If Only You Knew
by thisnthat9
Summary: Highschool AU - Sansa gets jealous when someone seems to be paying more attention to Sandor Clegane than he usually gets.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt was: "(future!fic i think but it can be Au whatever) Sansa finds herself feeling oddly jealous and angry, when she see's that another woman has taken a liking to Sandor. This would be before any feelings they have for each other has been shared? You can take it anywhere you want smut whatever, I'm easy ;)"

I've done a high school AU for it, because there can never be enough high school AUs… especially ones dealing with jealousy. IMO.

It didn't turn out exactly as I had wanted it, but I suppose I'm pleased enough with it.

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Sansa tucked her hair behind one of her ears and shot a sideways glance at Jeyne who was sitting next to her on the home bleachers, which lined the track of the football field. She was supposed to be paying attention to her boyfriend, Joffrey. He was the team's kicker, even though he was only a freshman, like herself. The only reason he was on the team was because his grandfather was on the school board and had donated a lot of money. That wasn't to say he was a bad player, he wasn't, but freshman weren't usually allowed on the varsity football team.

Instead of paying attention to Joffrey, though, she couldn't take her eyes off of the team's massive fullback, Sandor Clegane. Everyone called him 'The Hound' and he barely spoke to anyone but his teammates and was infamously the only member of the varsity football team who refused to wear a letterman's jacket. Legend of his older brother, Gregor, still made the rounds at school. Apparently, he was nearly 8 feet tall and had played linebacker on the varsity team for three years, and during one game, he'd snapped a kid's back and paralyzed him for life.

Sansa herself knew the Hound better than most people. Joffrey was well known at school for throwing parties after football games, he was also well known for getting the linebackers to rough up his girlfriend for him sometimes. After the parties, Sandor would usually give her a ride home as he lived down the street from her. Alone in his car, he'd tell her about himself and his family. He told her she was the only person who knew what really happened to his face. He had burn scars covering nearly half of his face and most people thought it was from an electrical fire that had happened in his room that lit his bed on fire. He had told Sansa the real story of it, though – that he'd been playing with one of his brother's toys and his brother had pushed him into their lit fireplace.

Jeyne nudged her and Sansa shook herself out of her stupor and turned to her best friend with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Joffrey is waving to you!" Jeyne told her, pointing to where her boyfriend stood next to the home team bench. Sansa turned and waved back, giving him a big smile. Something distracted her, though - a flash of brown hair and their school colours streaking across the track. Sansa's eyes followed the head cheerleader, Margaery Tyrell, as she threw herself at Sandor. He took a step back, but caught her all the same, lifting her up in his arms with his hands on her waist. Margaery's brother Loras was the team's quarterback and one of the most popular boys in school and as head cheerleader, she hung out with the football team a lot, but Sansa had never seen her show any interest in Sandor. She was surprised to find herself jealous. Of Margaery? Why? She had Joffrey and Sandor was kind of scary, but to tell it true, he treated her better than Joffrey ever had.

After the game, everyone went back to Joffrey's sprawling mansion for his usual party. Sansa watched from a corner as Margaery giggled and flirted with Sandor, sitting on his lap. He didn't say much, just occasionally nodded in response to her. At least when they spent time together, he actually talked to her. She spent a while longer seething in jealousy, staring over at Sandor where Margaery sat on his lap, before throwing herself at Joffrey.

Sansa cuddled up to him and let him grope her and sloppily kiss her neck. She drank the burning alcoholic drinks that were placed in her hands, collapsing sloppily against Joffrey, who shoved his hand down her pants. She pushed his hand away, but leaned in to kiss him instead. He pulled her close and she straddled him, pushing her tongue into his mouth. They made out for a while before Joffrey pushed her off of him and got up, pulling her along with him. She looked back at where Sandor was and found his eyes on her, he looked surly and his brow was furrowed, but she quickly looked away and began to let Joffrey drag her up to his bedroom. They had just reached the stairs when she felt a massive warm hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Sandor standing above her, stopping her from following Joffrey up the stairs.

"The girl's parents will be wondering where she is and I have work to do in the morning," he told Joffrey.

"What business is it of yours, dog?" Joffrey asked, pulling on Sansa's wrist once again.

"I drive her home," he said. "Come girl, it's time to go." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up against him, draping her over his shoulder, Joffrey let go with a scowl when he did, knowing he was no match for the much larger boy.

Sansa let herself be carried out of the party and put into the passenger seat of Sandor's big black pickup truck. It was a temperamental vehicle, she'd seen a few other people try to drive it before, but it always seemed to work just fine for its owner. He pulled into the street and drove away from the loud party that was still in full swing.

"You should be more careful of him," the Hound said, his eyes on the road. "You've had far too much to drink and you know how he gets. Text your brother, tell him you're staying at your friend's house… what's her name? That girl you talk to."

He meant Jeyne. Sansa texted Robb, who would be able to cover for her to their parents. She wondered if Sandor would actually drive her to Jeyne's house though…

"Why? Are you dropping me off at hers?" she asked.

"And bother her parents who are friends of yours? No. I'm not stupid," he said. "I'm taking you to my house."

Despite living just down the street from him, she'd never actually been to his house. She knew which one was his, but he'd never invited her over before… come to think of it, she'd never really seen anyone else go in or out, either.

"Your house?" Sansa asked, her drunk brain lagging. "Why?"

"You're fourteen and way too drunk to be dealing with your parents." He glanced over at her and frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Shouldn't you be taking Margaery home with you instead?" she asked, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Who?" He genuinely sounded like he hadn't a clue whom she was speaking of.

"The head cheerleader? She was in your lap all night."

"Oh. Her." Sandor shrugged. "I have no interest in her."

"That's not what it looked like," Sansa pushed.

The Hound didn't answer, instead, concentrated on driving them to his house. Sansa wondered who he lived with… not his parents, they were dead, and his brother had long since graduated and moved away.

"How old are you?" she asked. He was awfully big to be in high school.

"Eighteen."

"You should ask Margaery to be your girlfriend," Sansa said. She didn't know why she was saying these things. She was angry with him for letting the girl sit on him and talk to him and she didn't even know why. Clearly she meant nothing as he didn't even know her name. "She clearly wants you."

"Don't want her," he grumbled.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Why do you care girl?"

"You call me girl a lot… do you even know my name?" He gave her a sidelong glance at that.

"Sansa Stark," he mumbled. "Do you know mine?"

"Everyone knows your name, Sandor Clegane," Sansa told him, rolling her eyes.

"Everyone knows your name as well." Sansa shook her head at that.

"I'm only a freshman, no one knows me," she insisted.

"Everyone knows your brother and they know you by association. Besides, even if no one knew your brother, they'd still all know who you are." Sansa left it after that and was silent until they pulled into his driveway. The drive had shaken up her stomach and when the car stopped and he got out, she opened up her door and threw up on the ground, just as Sandor came to a stop in front of the mess she had made. He raised an eyebrow at her and then picked her up and pulled her from the truck, lifting her over the mess of vomit.

He cradled her bridal style in his arms as he walked up to his house and fiddled with his keys for a moment before opening his front door. Sansa looked around as they went in and found it to be surprisingly much cleaner than she had expected. He brought her into his bathroom and sat her on the floor next to the toilet.

"Stay there," he told her. "I'll get you something to drink."

He came back a while later with a glass of water and a bottle of Gatorade and handed her the water.

"Rinse your mouth out and drink some water. I'll put you to bed after."

Sansa rinsed her mouth out and then sipped on the Gatorade he'd gotten for her, it seemed to settle her stomach a bit and she followed him into his bedroom. It was surprisingly sparse for a room belonging to a teenage boy. The whole house was actually surprisingly undecorated and plain.

"Do you live alone?" Sansa asked, wondering how he paid his rent while he was in high school.

"Yeah. I work as a bouncer when I don't have football practice or games." He threw her his school hoodie and a pair of shorts. "You can wear those to sleep in."

Sansa thanked him and then began undressing. He quickly turned from the room and she heard him turn on the television in the front room. The sweatshirt smelled nice even though it looked a bit dirty. Perhaps it was just that it smelled like Sandor himself. She rubbed her nose into it before pulling her clothes off and sliding into his shorts before pulling the sweatshirt over her head, breathing in deeply as it slid over her head. Once she was finished, she put her hair up with the ponytail holder around her wrist and walked into the front room. He was sitting on the edge of the couch, looking very uncomfortable and staring blankly at the television.

"Thank you," she told him softly, once again.

"Sure."

"Are you coming to bed?"

He shook his head. "I'll sleep out here."

"Perhaps if I was Margaery you would come to bed with me."

"Stop bringing her up," he grumbled and stood from the couch, flicking of the TV and tossing the remote onto the table. "I've told you, Little Bird. I don't want her."

He walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Sansa thought he might kiss her for a second and just stared up at him, but he didn't. He turned her around and gently pushed her in front of him, walking down the hall with her. He guided her back into his bedroom and pulled back the covers for her, gesturing for her to get in. At first, she thought he was just going to tuck her into bed and then go to sleep out in the front room on the couch, but he went to the closet and pulled off his shirt, throwing it onto a chair. He pulled a tshirt out of a drawer in his closet and pulled it on, then shucked out of his jeans and pulled on a pair of basketball shorts before coming back over to the bed and sliding in under the covers with her.

"If I stay with you, will you stop bringing that girl up?" he asked.

"I… I'm jealous of her," Sansa mumbled. She wouldn't have told him, except she was still drunk. She shouldn't have told him.

"Jealous… why?" Sandor sounded utterly confused. "You could go out for cheerleading if you wanted… they'd probably take you."

Sansa shook her head. He was so clueless, wasn't he? "I'm not jealous because she's head cheerleader. I'm jealous because she was all over you all night."

Sandor looked rather stunned. "You were all over Joffrey…"

"To make you jealous," Sansa mumbled and looked away from him. She could feel herself blush brightly as he snorted a laugh.

"To make me jealous of Joffrey for having you?" he sounded incredulous as he asked it. "Don't be ridiculous Sansa. There isn't a thing you could do that would make me more jealous than I already am."

"Wait… what?" Was… was he saying that he… liked her? Wanted her?

"You heard me. Go to sleep."

"You can't just tell me you're jealous of my boyfriend and then tell me to go to sleep like it didn't just happen."

Sandor grumbled and reached over to Sansa. He pushed her onto her back and climbed on top of her. His breath was warm on her face and didn't smell at all like alcohol, which was good, she thought absently, as he'd driven her home from the party earlier. She'd never been this close to his face and she couldn't help but glance at his scars before gazing up into his eyes. He sighed and frowned at her.

"This isn't what you want, girl."

"This is exactly what I want," Sansa brought her hands up to him, wrapping one around his neck to pull his lips to hers and winding the fingers of her other hand through his hair. He kissed her for a while; long enough for her to notice that he was a much better kisser than Joffrey could hope to be any time soon. She didn't want to stop, but he pulled away.

"We should have sex," Sansa whispered and he choked on his breath.

"You're drunk. Go to sleep."

"No, really, I want to," she said, pushing her body up against him. Sandor shook his head and rolled off of her.

"Go to sleep Little Bird," he told her, pushing his fingers along her temple. "We can tomorrow if you still want to, but not tonight – not while you're drunk."

Sansa sighed unhappily but snuggled into his arms and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It didn't take her very long to fall asleep in his arms. It was exciting sleeping in a bed with a boy. She'd never done it before and was glad that she was getting to sleep with him, he was so big and strong and having his arms holding her tight felt nicer than most things she could imagine.


	2. Chapter 2

I would like to point out that while I have attempted to keep the characters to their same personalities, this deviates wildly from canon and has its own plot entirely. I've crated an entirely different world for them, partially based off of my own high school experiences, and have tried to write them as if they were the same characters thrown into these vastly different situations. I apologise if it is badly done, I've tried my best to make it both compelling as well as its own story rather than modernizing the plot that ASOIAF/GOT already has.

Also, there is so much sex in this chapter so if that's not a thing you're into…

* * *

When Sansa awoke the next morning, it was to a splitting headache and her stomach heaving. She quietly slipped out of Sandor's arms and hurried to the bathroom, hoping she hadn't awoken him. She fell to her knees and was sick in the toilet. She flushed it, rinsed her mouth with water and mouthwash that she found sitting by the sink, swallowed two Tylenol tablets, and then stumbled off into the kitchen to get a bottle of Gatorade out of the fridge. She sipped it slowly and nibbled on some crackers she found in a cupboard and thought back on the night before. Sandor had told her they could have sex today if she still wanted… and thinking about it, she knew she did. She had wanted him even before she was drunk and spending the night safely in his arms hadn't diminished her feelings in the slightest.

Once her stomach felt more settled, she crept back into Sandor's bedroom where he was still fast asleep flat on his back. Sansa unlaced the shorts and let them fall around her feet before stepping out of them. She shrugged her arms out of the sleeves of the hoodie, too, and slipped it off of her head. Having stripped herself bare, she climbed onto the bed and slowly pulled the covers away from his body. He shifted a bit, but remained asleep. The bulge in his basketball shorts entranced her and she ran her fingers across his abdomen before slipping them into the band of his underwear. She was lightly pulling them down when a hand suddenly enclosed around her wrist. She gasped and looked up at him to find him staring at her with a slight frown on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked before he glanced down at her naked body and then back up to her eyes.

"I was just curious…" she said.

"Well fucking ask girl," he chastised her. "Don't just try and take a peep at my cock while I'm asleep."

"Sorry…" she blushed and tried to pull her hand away, but he held tightly to her wrist.

"I know you want to, so ask," he grumbled.

"Can I see it?" she inquired shyly.

Sandor released her wrist and pushed his hand back to his side. Sansa slowly pulled his shorts and underwear down. He was half-hard and big and she bit her lip as she looked at his cock, wondering how it would feel inside of her. She lightly ran her fingers over his length and noticed his abdomen twitch as he sucked in a sudden breath. The skin on his cock was silky smooth and felt nice under her fingers. He stiffened under her touch and while his cock grew hard and stood up from his body, it seemed to make the skin of it feel even more smooth. She rested her palm against him before holding him in her fist and stroking the length. His hips arched and Sansa moved to straddle his thighs.

"Last night you said we could have sex today if I still wanted to…" she began, biting her lip and looking down at him, unsure if he would want her.

"It's not a good idea, but if you want to we can," his voice was barely above a whisper and Sansa grinned down at him.

"I do want to," she told him enthusiastically.

She was tired of feeling like a baby, and Sandor was practically a man himself, if anyone could make her a woman by doing this act with her, it was him. She didn't want to be a child forever. She had heard her older brother Robb and her half-brother Jon talking with their foster brother Theon about what exactly happened during sex, so she at least knew what to do. The thought of doing such an intimate thing with Sandor Clegane was making her tingly and excited and she could feel a rush of heat between her legs.

Sandor nodded as if to tell her to go ahead, and placed his hands on her hips where she straddled him. He pulled her up and forward so that she was hovering above his cock. Sansa kept her hand on him and lined him up so he was pressing into her. It felt nice like that and she looked into his bright grey eyes for reassurance before slowly letting herself slide down onto him. It was tight and pinchy and it hurt but she kept going as she felt his fingers grip tightly into her hips. She tried to relax and as she did, she slid deeply onto him so that she was flush against him and as she did, she felt resistance give way within herself with a hot spark of pain.

Once she was relaxed on top of him, she opened her eyes and looked down at him. His hands were painfully tight around her hips and his face was screwed up as if he was in a great deal of pain. Sansa bit her lip and leaned forward to touch his face. Her lean changed their angle a bit and pushed him in deeper, which made them both gasp. Her stomach was flush to his abdomen as she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him lightly on the mouth. She could feel him taking small pained breaths and wondered what was wrong.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Does it hurt?"

"You're so tight," he ground out. "I'm trying not to cum."

"It's okay if you need to," she reassured him. "We can do it again after. We can do it all day, if you like."

Sandor's hips jerked up with a small moan and Sansa relaxed and let herself slide along his body a little bit before sliding back onto him. It seemed to make him feel good as he made little groaning sounds when she did it. It still hurt a lot, but rubbing against him felt really nice through the pain as well, so she did it a few more times before Sandor's hips arched off the bed and he pulled her tightly against him with a rough groan. He tensed and jerked against her and she could feel a flood of new wetness between her legs. When he'd finished, he let himself relax back into his sheets, panting for air.

Sansa smiled and got off of him. There was blood on his cock and she reached for some Kleenex on the bedside table before wiping him off with it. After she'd cleaned him up, she tucked him back into his shorts and underwear and gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room. She wanted to stay in his arms afterward, but the mess between her legs diverted her attention and she went to the bathroom and cleaned up before returning to his room and pulling on his shorts and hoodie again. She got back in bed next to him and watched as he stared at the ceiling in thought. Sansa watched him for a while, holding her lower lip between her teeth.

"Was I any good?" she asked. "I mean, compared to other girls."

He shrugged wordlessly and she frowned.

"Maybe I'll be better next time," she quietly suggested, feeling self-conscious.

"I wouldn't know, Little Bird," he told her. "There have never been any other girls."

"You… you mean that was your first time, too?" she asked and grinned as he nodded his head in confirmation. "I'm glad you were my first."

Sandor turned his head to look at her and seeing that she was sincere, he reached out his hand and stroked her cheek before pulling her closer and softly kissing her on the lips. Sansa snuggled into his large warm body for a while longer before he got up to get breakfast.

After they had eaten, they spent most of the day having sex. Being new to it, it didn't take long between times for them to want more of it and although it was achey and uncomfortable at first, Sansa grew to like it more, and she certainly liked the faces and noises Sandor made when he came. She enjoyed knowing she was the cause of all of his pleasure and that she was mostly in control, as the teenage boy seemed rather helpless to the whims of his member.

It was mid afternoon and Sandor was flat on his back in the middle of the front room floor with Sansa slowly grinding her hips into his. It had felt nice enough all day, but as soon as she'd started off on top of him again, she could understand why people raved about sex. It felt better than it had before and her eyes fluttered closed as she moved her hips slowly against his. The heat between her legs that she felt every time they had sex, started to build and she couldn't hold back the sounds that spilled from her mouth. At first, she was embarrassed of making noises like that, but every time a sound came from her, Sandor's hands would contract around her waist and his hips would jerk up so she supposed he liked the noises. Sansa gasped and moaned as she moved against Sandor, the feeling building into what felt like a fireball in her pelvis. The friction built and she shook when the warmth seemed to explode within her and spread out to her limbs. She couldn't stop the moan that tore from her lungs and she squeezed her eyes shut as her inner muscles clenched and released around Sandor. She'd never had an orgasm before, but it was hard to mistake that for anything else.

When Sansa finally got home, it was nearly dinnertime and her whole body ached. She gingerly sat down at the table for the family meal and was in a mental haze the whole time, not even noticing the five times her father asked her to pass him the peas, or the look her parents gave each other afterward. She went to bed straight after and dreamt of Sandor's huge warm body against hers.


	3. Chapter 3

The homecoming dance was the biggest and most important event for Sansa all year, and while she really wanted to go with Sandor, she was technically still dating Joffrey and would be going with him instead. She really didn't think her parents would approve of her spending any time at all with Sandor, anyway. Little did they know, that for the weeks leading up to the homecoming dance, she'd been over at his house having sex with him almost every day after school.

Every day when Sansa was around Sandor, they acted like there was nothing changed between them. It was mostly on Sandor's end as Sansa longed to tell everyone how sweet he was to her and how amazing it was having sex with him, but he just brooded and ignored the little looks and smiles she gave him in public, so she stopped and saved it for when they were alone. Still, sometimes she would catch him looking at her and she couldn't help but smile to herself.

At the homecoming football game, Sansa sat next to her best friend Jeyne as usual, but couldn't keep her eyes off of Sandor. She knew that Jeyne was growing suspicious of her as she was always staring after Sandor now instead of Joffrey and she'd leave early from Joffrey's parties to go home with Sandor under the guise of being home early for her (non-existent) curfew. Before Sandor, most of Sansa's free time had been spent equally between Jeyne and Joffrey, but now, Joffrey seemed too entranced by Margaery to notice that she spent barely any time outside of school with him, and Jeyne kept her mouth shut, but Sansa knew she was suspicious.

The whole next day, Sansa was queasy as she sat and watched television with Jeyne. They did their makeup in the afternoon and then Jeyne's father drove them over to Joffrey's house as he was hiring a limo to take them all to the dance and then back to his house where his parents were letting him host a sleepover. Sandor was there and already on his way to being drunk by the time Sansa and Jeyne got there. Joffrey himself was beyond drunk and leered at her when she arrived.

By the time the limo full of kids had arrived at the dance, it was already in full swing, and every one of Joffrey's friends was drunk as they tried to seem sober when they walked in. As soon as they were in together, Joffrey pulled Sansa onto the dance floor and pressed himself against her, grinding his hips into hers and groping her hips and butt. Sansa looked around and could see Sandor watching them from where he was leaning against a wall to the side of the dance floor. His arms were crossed over his body and he looked grumpy and Sansa wanted to go over and ask him what was wrong and tell him that she'd rather be with him. Unfortunately, they both knew that using Joffrey as an excuse and sneaking around behind his back was safer for them than if she were single and couldn't explain why she was always out or whom she was with.

After a while, Joffrey got preoccupied with Margaery Tyrell and left Sansa alone on the dance floor. She walked over to where Sandor was and nodded her head away from the crowd he gave her a nearly imperceptible nod and took her hand in his, pulling her away from the dancing and commotion. They snuck around the teachers who were chaperoning the dance and out along the math wing. He kept leading her away to the back staircase and then down to the basement where he slipped through another door and down, down, down into the fallout shelters that had been built under the school in the 50s when the building was brand new. There were cigarette butts and used condoms littering the ground at the entrances to the shelters, but Sandor pulled her along further, past where most people would have stopped, into the darkness where the lights from the stairs no longer reached. She couldn't see anything and she was dizzy from the alcohol she'd had, but she could tell the floor here was clean.

For a while, they just stood in the dark. All she could feel was his hand on hers and all she could hear was their breathing in the still darkness. They were too deep underground for even the pulsing bass of the music upstairs to be heard. Suddenly though, Sandor was pushing her down onto the ground on her hands and knees. She could hear him undo the button and zip of his pants and the shuffle of material as he shoved them down with his underwear before she once again felt his hands on her. She spread her legs for him as he pushed her skirts up and ripped away her underwear, shredding the material and yanking them away from her skin, leaving her exposed to him in the cool darkness.

They both groaned as he pushed into her and Sansa relaxed as he began roughly thrusting into her and clumsily rubbing her clit. He was being rougher than he'd ever been with her before and she figured it was because he was drunk. She'd never actually seen him properly drunk before, either, as he usually stayed sober to drive her home after events where most people were drinking. Since tonight they'd just be going back to Joffrey's by limo, he could get as drunk as he wanted. Sansa felt Sandor's teeth sink into her shoulder and heat rushed between her legs as she cried out, half in pain and half in pleasure. It seemed to encourage him as he nipped and sucked at her before pushing her flat onto the ground. Her chin scraped against the concrete and the burn of a scrape flashed across her face. She arched her hips up, knowing she'd end up looking worse for wear after this, but not being able to care because of how good it felt having Sandor moving over her and thrusting within her.

It didn't take long for them to finish and after lying on the cold ground in each other's arms for a while, Sandor got up and pulled her with him. Sansa didn't know where her underwear had gone, but she righted her skirts and after he did his pants up, let Sandor pull her back out of the fallout shelter, up, up, the stairs, and back to the dance. He slipped away from her as soon as they were back where people could see them and Sansa was left to find Joffrey or Jeyne alone.

Once the dance was over and everyone was back in the limo on their way to Joffrey's house, Sansa couldn't keep her eyes off of Sandor. He refused to look at her, though, and so she tried to keep up a conversation with Jeyne instead. As soon as they got into Joffrey's well-lit home, Jeyne gasped and brought a hand up to Sansa's face where she knew it had been scraped.

"Sansa! You're bleeding! What happened?" she asked, dragging Sansa off to a bathroom to help her clean the scrape on her chin. Sansa brought her hand up to it in the mirror, it stung a bit, but it wasn't too bad. She looked down and saw her palms were scraped, too. She was pretty sure that her knees, stomach, and hip bones would be scraped and bleeding as well, from what she could feel and how Sandor had roughly pushed her to the ground and held her there as he thrust into her.

"I just tripped Jeyne, really it's nothing to worry about," she assured her friend. "I was just drunk and clumsy."

Jeyne seemed to buy this and quickly helped Sansa clean herself before they went out to find the rest of their friends sprawled across couches watching a movie. Joffrey had been talking to Margaery and while Sansa wanted to go sit in the back where Sandor was, Joffrey looked up and saw her when she walked in and called her over to him instead. She sat with him and held his hand until he got bored and pulled her away from their friends and up to his bedroom. She was afraid he would do something to her, but instead of trying to have sex with her, he stripped her bare, made her pose for pictures, and then promptly passed out on his bed with his arm around her, holding her down with him. She sighed angrily, and wished she could be in Sandor's arms instead, but the alcohol had gotten to her and she fell asleep not long after.

When she woke up in the morning, her head pounded and her stomach was roiling. She sighed as she hurriedly slipped out of bed, managing to do so without waking him. He was still passed out and snoring loudly from all the alcohol he'd had. She quickly grabbed his camera and deleted all of the pictures he'd taken of her off of it before picking her dress up off of the floor and sliding quietly out of the door. Outside of his room, she tripped over Sandor who had clearly been sleeping outside Joffrey's door, possibly to make sure he didn't do anything out of order to Sansa, clumsily waking him up in her haste to get to the bathroom. She was still naked and clutching her dress around herself as she hurried to the bathroom. She pushed the bathroom door closed and it didn't shut all the way, but it was close enough, she figured. She collapsed onto the floor of the bathroom just in time to be sick into the toilet. Her eyes teared up and her throat burned with stomach acid as her body expelled its contents into the white porcelain bowl. She was far too busy with the unpleasant act her body was forcing on her to notice the door push open and Sandor slip in, closing it behind him. When she had finished, she sat up and wiped her mouth with some toilet paper before closing the lid of the toilet and flushing the mess away. She looked up, startled, when she heard Sandor move toward her but she smiled to see it was him.

"Dress yourself and I'll take you away from here, Little Bird," he told her and handed her the dress she'd dropped on the floor in her hurry. He filled a glass with water as she slid back into the dress and handed it to her before zipping the back of the dress up for her. Sansa sipped on the water, swishing it around her mouth before spitting it into the sink. Once her mouth felt clean, she drank the rest of the water and accepted the hoodie he was offering her. It smelled like him and she'd noticed he'd been using it as a pillow while he was sleeping in the hall on the floor. Sansa quickly pulled it on over her head and then let him lead her out of the bathroom, and down to where he'd parked his truck the afternoon before. He moodily brooded for most of the ride, but once he got close to where they lived, he spoke up.

"Did he do anything to you?" he asked quietly and she could tell he was just holding onto his anger at the thought of Joffrey hurting her.

"No, he just took some pictures of me and then passed out on top of me in bed. He didn't even try touching me aside from his arm around me," she replied softly, hoping to calm his anger some.

"Fucking dick," Sandor grumbled but dropped the topic.

She wasn't feeling well at all so instead of taking her to his house as he usually would, Sandor dropped her off at her own and quickly drove off to his own house. Sansa tiredly walked in, picked up a bottle of water and some saltines from the kitchen along with a large metal mixing bowl, and then went to bed. She tried eating and threw up a few more times throughout the rest of the day. Her mother worried over her, but Sansa assured her that it was probably just a stomach bug and that she'd be better the next day. Sansa spent the rest of the day in bed talking to Jeyne on her laptop and trying to eat bits of food.

When she woke up on Monday morning, she was exhausted and achy and sick to her stomach. She shrugged it off, assuming that she probably just still felt bad from the weekend partying, and went to school. At school, she was sick a few more times and aside from feeling exhausted, she actually felt much better than she had the day before. After school, Sandor drove her home. They were going to go to his house, but when he asked how she'd been feeling all day, she couldn't lie to him and he dropped her off at home instead. He looked concerned and worried, but didn't say anything other than telling her he hoped she felt better the next day and that he'd see her at school.

When Sansa got in, she didn't feel well at all and instead of going to bed, she got her brother Robb to drive her to the hospital to see what was wrong with her. She was certain her mother wasn't busy and would have taken her, but Sansa didn't want to admit that what she was feeling seemed to be the continuation of her hangover from all the alcohol she'd had on Saturday night before the dance. Her parents saw her as "the well-behaved" daughter and she didn't want to do anything to change their views of her as if they started paying closer attention, they might notice how much time she spent alone with Sandor at his house. It wasn't that she was afraid of being punished; it was more of a desire to remain Ned Stark's perfect daughter that drove her to hide her illness and habits from her parents.


	4. Chapter 4

A lovely reviewer or two pointed out that Sansa shouldn't have let Joff take pictures of her/should have deleted the pictures he took… and I agree, so if you don't want to re-read the last chapter and have missed it, Sansa did delete the nudes of her before sneaking out of Joff's room. Also, I'd like to thank all of my amazing readers and reviews. I really appreciate you guys! I'm working on writing chapter 10 as I post this, so no worries, more chapters are coming.

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When they got to the hospital, they had to wait in the waiting room for twenty minutes after being triaged. As she was only fourteen, Robb had taken her to the children's hospital downtown where the wait times were shorter. They sat talking in the waiting room and Robb held her hand as Sansa herself set her other hand over her turning stomach. She wasn't sure if the nausea was from nerves and stress, or whatever illness she seemed to be having.

"What's been up with you lately Sansa?" Robb asked. "Don't think we all haven't noticed. You're never home anymore and you've been acting really strange."

"Nothing!" she answered hastily and then took a breath. "I mean, nothing unusual, I don't think; just high school stuff, really. I study a lot at Jeyne's house now, honor's schedule and all."

"Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with that boy you've been seeing?" Robb asked and Sansa felt her stomach clench – he couldn't know about Sandor, could he? They'd been secretive, she thought. "What's his name… Joffrey?"

"I don't spend much time with him anymore," she truthfully confessed. "Just at lunch and the school ball games. Sometimes I go to his house after games, but we're pretty casual."

Robb eyed her for a minute to see if she was lying. He seemed skeptical about her answer, but left it alone, choosing instead to ask her about her classes and speak of schoolwork. The time went quickly and soon enough, Sansa was called back into an examination room. She explained her symptoms to the doctor who'd been sent to see to her – a kindly old man and he frowned a little and then nodded. He sent her to the bathroom to bring him back a urine sample to do some tests on.

It was awkward and gross having to pee in the little container, but if it could help them find out what was wrong with her and make it better, Sansa grit her teeth and bore it. She handed the container to a nurse and waited back in her exam room, flipping through the channels on the television that was there. It wasn't much longer before Dr. Luwin was back with a concerned expression on his face.

"Am I dying?" she asked him worriedly, but he shook his head in the negative and chuckled a bit.

"Have you been having unprotected consensual sex?" he asked.

"I've been having consensual sex but…" And then it hit her. They hadn't been using any protection. How could she possibly have been so stupid? She'd been sitting pale and frozen before Dr. Luwin, but suddenly her stomach turned and she bent to the side, throwing up on the floor. She profusely apologized as the doctor called someone to clean things up once they were through speaking.

"I – I guess I have been having unprotected sex," she told him. "Neither of us had any other partners, though, so I don't think I'd have any STDs…"

"You'll have to talk to your OBGYN about that, but I do have to inform you that you are pregnant," he told her softly, handing her a positive pregnancy test. "Do you have a doctor you'd like to go to, or would you like me to recommend you an OBGYN at the women's hospital?"

"I… I think so, yes," she said absently. A baby. She was having a baby – Sandor's baby. What was she going to do? She couldn't keep it, of course, it would ruin her life, but she couldn't just kill something she and Sandor had created like that. She couldn't tell her parents yet, she couldn't tell Robb, and she certainly wouldn't be telling Sandor. What would he even say? He'd probably think she was so pathetic for letting this happen and it would ruin his life, he was better off just not knowing. While she was going through everything in her head, Dr. Luwin handed her a card with a name and number on it, telling her to schedule an appointment as soon as she could get in. She took it and then went back out to Robb.

"Well?" he asked. "Is it serious? Are you dying?"

"No, no," she said, brain in a fog. "I just have a bit of acid reflux and need more sleep."

She smiled and he grinned back at her, but it all felt false and left a bad taste in her mouth. She was quiet while they drove home, trying to think of what to do. She knew she had to find someone to talk to about this, but she wasn't sure whom. She couldn't tell anyone at school because even though she loved her friends, there was no guarantee that someone would let something slip.

_Jon. _

If there was anyone she could tell and trust, it was her oldest half-brother Jon. He wasn't much older than Robb, but if anyone could understand an unplanned teen-pregnancy, it would be Jon as he was a product of one. She knew he would neither judge her, nor tell her parents and he was old enough to be able to help her in any way she needed. They'd never been close while they were growing up and he still lived at home, but it was worth it to try and repair their relationship now that she needed his help so badly.

When they got home, Sansa quickly went up to her room and turned on her laptop, quickly checking facebook and then her email. There was nothing new in either, so she got her phone and went downstairs with it, walking out to take a walk around the block so that no one overheard her phone calls. As soon as she was far enough to not be overheard or to run into anyone she knew, she dialed the number Dr. Luwin had given her earlier and booked in an appointment with the OBGYN for the next Wednesday. Once she had finished that, she dialed Jon's number through her address book. He answered on the second ring.

"Jon Stark," came his voice, like their father's, but younger.

"Hi Jon," Sansa greeted him shyly.

"Sansa? Is that you?" He seemed bewildered that she even had his number, she'd never called him before and they rarely spoke apart from polite conversation when they saw each other in person. He had always been closer to Arya and she closer to Robb, but even Robb couldn't help with this.

"I have a problem, Jon. I really need to talk to you in person," she told him, biting on her lip as her stomach turned, nervous about what he would say.

"Me? Are you sure?" he asked incredulously. She'd never come to him for anything before.

"It has to be you. Please Jon?"

"Of course Sansa, of course. I'll pick you up from school tomorrow and take you out to Starbucks or something," he told her. "I'll be waiting out front when school gets out."

"I can't thank you enough," she said quietly.

"Hey, that's what big brothers are for, right?" he asked and for the first time Sansa really was glad that Jon was her older brother.

The next day at school, Sansa felt like she had a bomb inside of her. She barely spoke to anyone all day even though Jeyne was giving her funny looks the whole day. Sandor was the worst, though. She couldn't even look at him when they were sitting at the same lunch table with Joffrey. She acted as normal as she could manage around Joffrey himself so he wouldn't be angry with her, but it was hard with Sandor's eyes on her the entire time.

She was at her locker after lunch getting her books ready for her afternoon classes when someone came up behind her and leaned against the locker to her right. She glanced up to find Sandor looking at her with a concerned expression on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. Sansa quickly looked back at her locker's contents and away from him but she could see him frown out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked quietly and Sansa gave a short nod of her head.

"What was wrong?" he asked, clearly trying to engage her in an actual conversation.

"Acid reflux and exhaustion," she said shortly, getting her books into her backpack and shutting the door to her locker. "I have to go."

"Do you want a ride after school?" he asked as she began to walk away.

"I have plans."

She walked away but glanced back at him just before she turned a corner. He was stood next to her locker still, but his shoulders were slumped and his head was down. She felt terrible lying to him and treating him this way, but it would be better for him in the long run if he had as little involvement in it as possible. He was probably being scouted by NFL drafters this year and there was no way he needed some stupid little girl and her accidental baby around to fuck up his life or get his money awarded to them. Besides, the second Joffrey found out about all of this and noticed she and Sandor were close, there would be hell to pay for the both of them. She could at least protect his reputation from this since her own was now forfeit.

Sansa was distracted and upset through both of her afternoon classes, but then school was out and Jon was there waiting for her and looking ever-so-cool with the top down on his convertible that he had parked outside the school. She gleefully ran to his car and hopped in, tossing her backpack into the back row and giving him a big hug for the first time. He wasn't as big as Sandor, but his arms were strong and comforting around her and she felt safe after the free-fall feeling she'd had since leaving the hospital. As they drove off, she glanced back at school and found Sandor watching after them and she quickly looked away; it would be better if he just forgot all about her.

Jon took her to Starbucks downtown and bought her hot chocolate with whipped cream and took her to the couches in the back where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone. He sat down next to her and turned toward her, fixing her with the serious gaze he shared with their father.

"What is it that's wrong?" he asked.

Sansa told him everything. She told him how horrible Joffrey was and how badly he treated her. She told him about the parties and getting drunk. She told him how she'd been with Sandor and how she'd been too stupid and caught up in the thrill of it all to think to use protection – which lead into telling him that she was pregnant and didn't know what to do. His eyebrows raised and he took a deep breath.

"You should know better than that Sansa. What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

"I want… I don't know what I want Jon. I know that I don't want to have an abortion, but… I also know that I can't keep this baby, either. I wish I could, but I know it can't have the best life possible with me, so I'll need to put it up for adoption. I just wish there was some way that I'd be able to see it instead of just shipping it off to some family," she told him miserably.

"I might be able to help you with that… but first, what does the father think about all this?" he asked, correctly assuming that since she was talking to him about it, she hadn't told her parents.

"I'm not going to tell him."

"He needs to know," Jon told her softly, running a hand along her arm.

"It'll ruin his life, Jon. He'll be better off just not knowing anything about it."

"And when you start to show?" Jon asked. "From what you've told me about him, he clearly cares for you, so what is he supposed to think when suddenly everyone knows that you're pregnant and he knows you were together but you haven't told him anything about it? It is your child and your life and I know that I can't tell you what to do, Sansa, but think of him. It's his life and his child, too. And not to be horrible about it, but that Joffrey seems just the type to loudly tell whomever will listen that it's certainly not his child you're carrying."

"I just can't tell him yet," Sansa whispered and Jon nodded, pushing a strand of hair off of her face.

"You'll have to tell dad and your mother at some point. Preferably before you start to show," he told her and she nodded absently. "And do me the biggest of favors and don't let it slip that you told me first. Your mother hates me enough as it is."

"Of course Jon," she assured him. "When I tell them, you can just act as shocked as everyone else."

"Thank you. So what's the next step to this?" he asked. "You're pregnant… do you need to see a doctor about it?"

"I made an appointment for Wednesday with an OBGYN at the women's hospital. I was wondering if you would please come with me?"

"Absolutely. You need all the support you can get for this. This is hard Sansa, but I think that you'll do well with it. You've been relatively responsible with the aftermath of such a giant fuck up so far, but we'll see."

Feeling better about everything already, Jon drove her home, stopping in for a while to speak with their father about something or other, Sansa didn't know as she went up to her room to do her homework and check her facebook. There was a message waiting from Sandor and he was still online.

If you want to be with someone else it's whatever but I wish you would have told me instead of just treating me less than dirt.

Sansa sighed and typed back to him.

I'm not with Jon. He's my older brother.

Sandor's reply came quickly after that.

Oh. Sorry. Do you want to come over and hang out?

How she wished she could, but she really needed to just avoid him so that it would be less awkward when he found out she was pregnant and she'd just been avoiding him instead of lying by omission to his face the whole time.

I can't. I have a lot of homework.

Right. I'm glad you're feeling better, then. I'll see you tomorrow I guess.

Sansa signed off then and got back to working on her homework. She finished it quickly and went downstairs for dinner with her family. It was awkward sitting there with both of her parents looking at her funnily.

"You're feeling better, Sansa?" her father asked and she gave him a smile.

"Much, thank you," she told him. "Robb took me to the doctor. I just have some acid reflux and have been tired from school."

Sansa could see her mother's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly at the symptoms she listed, but she seemed satisfied enough with the answer. Even if she'd suspected that Sansa was pregnant, she probably also figured that as her good little girl, Sansa would come to her about it if she had any sort of problem like that. After dinner, Sansa hurried upstairs and went to bed as she'd been very tired. That night, she dreamt of a boy with her hair and Sandor's eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Things were tense and awkward at school the whole first week that Sansa knew she was pregnant. She was tired and moody and sick and had to pee all the time and none of her friends were making it any easier on her. Jeyne seemed suspicious of everything Sansa did; Sandor's eyes never seemed to leave her, but he'd given up on trying to speak with her, so he became a lurking shadow that seemed to follow her around; and on Thursday, Joffrey dumped her for Margaery. Why a junior was going out with a freshman, Sansa didn't know, but it probably had something to do with Joffrey's family money and reputation or something.

Sansa was glad to be free of him, though. The only reason she hadn't broken up with him herself long ago was that she knew it would make him angry and that if he really wanted, he could make her life hell. Now that he had dumped her, she could still hang out with their mutual friends, but he wouldn't pay hardly any attention to her.

The first Friday night football game of being single was strange. She was free to stare at Sandor all she wanted, and she did, as she couldn't seem to stop herself, but she didn't have to worry about Joffrey or trying to be perfect for him and it was a great feeling. Jeyne looked at her like she was crazy the whole time though and it was even weirder when they went to Joffrey's after party. Sansa refused all alcohol she was offered, claiming it was bad for her acid reflux. She wasn't sure if it was actually a true fact, but it seemed legitimate enough for her classmates to believe, so after a while, people stopped trying to offer drinks to her. Sandor brooded in a corner for most of the time, staring down at his knees instead of watching her, and Sansa felt herself watching him instead. She wondered how much like him their child would be and it made her sad to realize that she probably would never know as she had all but decided for certain that she'd be putting the child up for adoption as soon as it was born, and she stopped trying to imagine that. Jeyne caught her staring at Sandor anyway, though.

"Sansa, what are you doing? You're staring at Clegane the Hound," Jeyne said, snapping her fingers in front of Sansa's face.

"Oh, I suppose I was. I was just thinking, he's so… frightening," she finished lamely, wishing Jeyne would just drop it. "He drives me home sometimes and he's not that bad, I guess."

Jeyne stopped talking about it after that and started giggling about Loras Tyrell instead, going on and on about how handsome he was. Sansa really wasn't in the mood to hear it though, as all she could think about was Sandor and how upset and unhappy he looked. Maybe Jon was right… maybe she should tell him. But would that even fix anything? For all she knew, it could make him even more upset, so she decided to just stay mum on the subject unless he came and asked her himself once people found out and started talking about it.

Sansa decided she wasn't really in a party sort of mood and left through the front door to get to some quiet where she could call Robb to come and pick her up. She got outside and had her phone out when a heavy hand settled onto her shoulder. She jumped a little but turned to find Sandor behind her.

"I'm leaving if you'd like a ride," he offered, nodding towards his petulant black pickup, which was parked just off the drive.

"Um… I…" Sansa was trying to figure out a nice way to refuse, but he cut in.

"You don't have to talk to me or fuck me or be nice to me or anything, girl. It's just easier if I drive you than if you wait for your brother or new boyfriend or whomever." He sounded angry and Sansa meekly nodded, following him to the truck and getting in. It was the most silent and awkward drive of her life but thankfully Joffrey didn't live too far away from their houses, so it was relatively short. She thanked him quickly and hopped out, running up the front walk to her house and pulling out her keys before opening the door and dashing in, closing it softly behind her so as not to wake anyone up.

On Wednesday after school, Jon was waiting for her in his convertible again to pick her up and take her to her first pre-natal appointment at the women's hospital. They chatted idly while he drove, speaking about his job at The Wall Security Firm and her breakup with Joffrey. Jon seemed pleased to hear that and told her that the boy sounded like he was no good for her. He asked if she'd thought some more about telling Sandor yet and she shrugged, prompting him to ask what Sandor was like.

"He's… a grouch, generally. He doesn't really speak all that much and when he does, he tends to be rude, but I think he means well. He's really good at football, he plays fullback and he's easily the best player on the team – even better than Loras Tyrell, the quarterback. I think he's being scouted for the NFL, he's that good," she told Jon and he looked impressed. "He's not really a people sort of person and he's awkward, but he's really good to me. He would stand up for me when Joffrey would push me around and he's always been physically gentle with me, even if he does snap at me sometimes for being a silly little girl. I don't think he means it, really; he just doesn't know how to deal with people, is all."

"It sounds like you really like him," Jon said softly.

"I do, I think. I mean, I don't know. He's not really handsome or anything but… I guess I do like him a lot," Sansa said.

"Not handsome?" Jon asked incredulously. "Princess Sansa Stark going for a guy who isn't a perfect beautiful knight? What does he look like?"

"Well, half of his face isn't too bad. He's neither handsome nor hideous, just sort of plain I guess – but he has burn scars over the other half of his face, which isn't his fault and can't be helped really, but it just makes him look kind of scary, really. His body is nice though. He's really tall – taller than father, even, and he's broad and really well muscled from playing football. I don't think he's got any body fat on him, but he is really big from his muscles and height. I always feel really safe with him, like he can protect me from anything," Sansa trailed off, thinking about how much she missed spending time with him already. "He's got really dark hair and he wears it long so he can mostly hide the scarred half of his face and then his eyes are grey – like really light grey though. He kind of looks like a Stark, actually – but not so long in the face as you and father and Arya."

Jon grinned and shook his head as she described the father of her unborn child, knowing from how she spoke of him that the boy meant everything to his sister even if she didn't fully know or understand it yet. It wasn't long until they got to the hospital and the wait wasn't long once they'd signed in. Sansa made Jon come into the exam with her and they sat and spoke of all the times Arya had bested Bran and Rickon at sports when they were growing up. The doctor walked in then and introduced himself as Dr. Pylos. He was very young, but Sansa supposed he must know what he was talking about and didn't question his age. He eyed Jon with a slight suspicion as Sansa was so young and Jon himself was nearly twenty but looked at least twenty-three.

"This is my older brother, Jon," Sansa introduced him, noticing the look the doctor was giving him. "My parents don't know about any of this yet so Jon is taking care of it with me."

"Ah, of course," he said, looking relieved. "So, do you have any idea how far along you are?"

Sansa shook her head in the negative and he assured her that they'd find out and give her a due date to look forward to before she left that day. He informed her that they'd be doing some tests and need some samples from her – urine, which she'd already given just after she'd signed in; blood, which a nurse would take; and cervical cells, which he'd be taking now, before he checked on everything inside with an ultrasound and she'd get to see her baby.

He and Jon left the room briefly as she changed into an examination gown, and then he returned alone. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but it was quickly over and he was off delivering the sample somewhere. Sansa quickly put her underwear and jeans back on just in time before Jon walked back in with the nurse who would be taking her blood. It was quick and Jon held her hand for it and then the nurse was gone and Dr. Pylos was back with an ultrasound machine. He had Sansa pull up the gown she wore over her still flat stomach and then squirted some cold gel on it before smoothing around the ultrasonic wand onto it. A fuzzy picture came up on screen of her insides as he moved it around across her lower abdomen and then stopped.

"That's your baby," he said, pointing to a small blob on the screen. It didn't look anything like a baby, but Sansa couldn't stop staring at it knowing it was a new life inside of her. She glanced down at her flat belly and then back at the screen and then over to Jon who was grinning.

"Everything is fine, heartbeat is normal, and you're seven and a half weeks along," the doctor told her. "If you give me a minute, I can give you an approximate due date."

Sansa grinned back at Jon. This was all terrifying but she had a baby growing in her and she couldn't seem to be unhappy now that she was getting to see it.

"June first," Dr. Pylos said, and Sansa looked to him. "Of course it's just an approximation, but you're due on the first of June. Congratulations Miss Stark."

Just before school let out she'd be a mother. The thought was terrifying but exciting at the same time because then at least she'd get to meet her child, and maybe if she'd managed to tell him by then, Sandor would be able to be there to see their baby before he left or whatever his plans were after graduation.

The doctor had her schedule another appointment for mid-November and gave her a print out of her ultrasound image of her child as well as a box of sample prenatal vitamins to start taking and orders to purchase more before she left. Jon took her for a smoothie at Jamba Juice and then drove her home.

"Do you remember how I told you last week that I might have an idea for what to do since you want to be able to keep in touch with your child but you're not able to take care of it?" Jon asked as they drove down the freeway back to the suburbs.

"Do you have a solution that will work?" she asked.

"If you're okay with it, I think so, yes," he told her. "You remember my girlfriend Ygritte, right? You've met her at a few dinners, I think."

"The Canadian one?" Sansa asked. She was pretty sure she remembered Ygritte. She had bright red hair and was weird in a funny sort of way. She and Jon had been dating for years.

"That's the one," Jon confirmed. "She and I are pretty serious now and we want a family. Of course we could have our own children, but with us in want of a baby and you pregnant and wanting to be able to see your child but being unable to take care of it… If you're alright with it, we'd like to adopt your baby."

Sansa was gobsmacked. She hadn't even thought of that as a possibility but it was a rather brilliant solution. She'd be able to see the child whenever she wanted but as Jon and Ygritte were both much older and had stable jobs, the child would get much better care than she was able to offer it. Of course, Sandor could probably see the kid too if he wanted and if he found out about it at all. Perhaps she wouldn't ruin their lives after all.

"Do you mean it? You really will?" she asked excitedly and Jon grinned at her.

"Only if you want, Sansa. If you don't want to, or change your mind, or anything, don't even feel bad about it, okay? Whatever you need to do to feel okay about all of this is whatever we'll do," Jon assured her.

The whole way home, Sansa couldn't stop thanking Jon and she left him with the print out of the ultrasound, as she didn't want any evidence of her as of yet undetectable pregnancy floating around the house. Despite having Jon as a confidante, Sansa still wanted someone to speak to whom she could trust and was closer to her age – and who was at least a girl. She didn't know whom she could confide in, though.

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Sorry I've been so long in updating! I've been busy busy lately. I'm flying back to Canada tomorrow (I've been in England for 6 months) and so there's stuff to do with that as well as I wrote a whole other quick story I wanted to finish knocking out before I posted another chapter of this. Also, I wanted to finish writing chapter 10 and begin on 11 before I posted 5, which I have also done. So here you guys go, thank you for your patience! I hope this is okay :/


	6. Chapter 6

In the days following, Sansa did a lot of research on fetal development on her computer and got updates sent to her email address. Just to be safe, she also set a password to her computer, which she'd never done before. According to her research, she'd soon start outgrowing her clothing and the time when her baby bump would start showing was not far off. She looked up the best ways to hide a pregnancy bump and then called up Jeyne and asked if she'd like to go shopping for some winter clothes at the mall with her on the weekend.

Bright and early Saturday morning, Sansa cornered her father at the breakfast table and asked him for some money to get new clothes as she told him she had grown over the summer and would need new warm clothes for the winter. Eddard never could resist giving his daughters whatever they should want and handed her some money to buy clothes, asking if she'd also like him to drive her to the mall.

"Yes please, and can we pick Jeyne up on the way please?" she asked.

"Of course," he told her.

At the mall, Sansa eyed the maternity stores but decided not to even risk it by staring at them too long. She spent a long while posing in the changing rooms with Jeyne, trying on stretchy yoga pants, low-rise stretch-denim jeans in sizes as big as she could get away with, loose sweaters, and long oversized t-shirts that would work well with the tight yoga pants. She spent all the money her father had given her on these things and as she was still relatively flat in the midsection, Jeyne was still none-the-wiser about anything by the time they were leaving the mall.

It had just turned December by the time Sansa actually started to show in an obvious way that her usual clothes couldn't hide. She'd mostly been wearing her old clothing while throwing some of her new pieces into the occasional rotation so that she didn't just seem to acquire a whole new wardrobe for some reason once she started showing. She'd been steadily growing the whole time and there had certainly been a bump that fit into her old jeans and was easily hidden with a t-shirt. It protruded from between her hipbones, which were quickly filling into bump as the days went by. She'd panicked the first time she noticed it and had felt huge, but as soon as she'd gotten dressed, it had no-longer been noticeable. The only person who'd actually seen it was Jon and the doctor at her 12 week doctor's appointment where she'd had more tests done and gotten to keep another ultrasound picture. Unlike the last one, this one actually looked like a baby and made her insides leap with happiness at the sight of it, it was now hidden safely in her locker.

How very much two weeks could change, she found. Not only was it now impossible to hide the bump in her old jeans and her favourite old t-shirt of Robb's (the jeans pushed her bump up and forward making it stick out and press against the shirt), but she now had a slight flush that she couldn't get rid of aside from covering it up with makeup. Hoodies became her new best friend and it was a crisp morning in early December when she pulled one sleepily over her head and headed to school.

When she got home, it was to find the heat blasting and she quickly pulled her sweatshirt over her head and off. Unfortunately, this was the absolute wrong thing to do as her father was sitting at the dining room table quietly doing paperwork and had looked up when she walked and had watched as his fourteen-year-old lifted her shirt off and had revealed a belly distended with child that she'd hidden rather well before that moment.

"Sansa?" came his shocked question and she turned toward him, quickly shoving the hoodie down and in front of her belly. She probably looked like a deer in headlights.

"Dad?" she tried to sound as innocent as she could.

"Sansa, come here," he commanded quietly and she couldn't help but obey.

She walked to him, around the table and stood before him, still trying to hide her midsection with the hoodie. He pulled the garment away when she got close enough for him to reach and pushed her hands away from her belly. Eddard ran his hand over her belly and quickly pulled it back and sighed before looking up at her from where he sat.

"How far along?" he inquired softly and Sansa bit her lip. He didn't sound angry so much as highly disappointed and sad.

"Fourteen weeks," she told him. "I was going to tell you – I just… I didn't know how to say it and I didn't want you to be angry with me…"

"I'm not angry, Sansa. I just… I wanted so much better for you than this. I thought you knew how to be careful," he told her. "What are you planning on doing? Who is the father? Does he know?"

Sansa could tell that by "who is the father?" what he really meant was "I hope it's not my best friend's son, Joffrey". She sighed and brushed her hair back for something to do with her hands.

"I'm putting it up for adoption," Sansa told him, certain of herself in this. "I already have an idea of a good family for it."

"And the father? Is he okay with this?" he prompted, looking slightly relieved that she wouldn't be trying to raise a child as she went through high school.

"I haven't told him," she admitted and watched her father raise an eyebrow.

"You'll need to do that," he told her. "I know I always said Robert and I were basically related, but I didn't quite mean like this…"

"Oh, no. It's not – it isn't Joffrey's baby," she said quickly before realizing how bad that must sound as to her father's knowledge, Joffrey was the only boy she'd ever dated. "Joffrey isn't a nice boy. The father is… he's much better, but we haven't talked in a while. Not since I found out, really."

"Sansa…" he sighed, rubbing his fingers along the bridge of his nose. "You have to tell him. He's going to be a father. Even if your child is adopted and he isn't responsible for it, he's still created a life and he needs to know about it. Who is this boy?"

"I'll tell him, I will… I just don't want him to think his life is ruined because of me," she said softly. "He's a good guy, dad. I promise."

"Why won't you tell me who he is?" her father inquired. "Do you think I won't approve?"

"He's hard to understand but he isn't a bad person," she told him, looking down at her protruding bump.

"Well, if you won't tell me… I suppose I'll find out eventually and it doesn't really matter right now. We'll need to tell your mother. Come, she's upstairs, I'll go with you and hold your hand while you tell her."

Catelyn Stark was not pleased. Not pleased at all. In fact, she was furious. She ranted at Sansa, telling her all the ways she should have been smarter and more careful and why would she do this? She'd had her suspicions, of course, but she'd wanted to believe that Sansa would have been more responsible than that. She made sure Sansa was getting all the right care in terms of doctors and vitamins and the like and was relieved to know her plans for once the child was born, but beyond that, there wasn't much else for her to do but discuss it with Eddard later as well as grounding her daughter until further notice and forbidding her to be alone in the company of a boy until she was eighteen and moved out.

As for Sansa, she went for a walk alone in the neighborhood, carefully avoiding walking near Sandor's house. She ended up walking toward the local park and playground. There was a girl sitting on the swings who looked about her own age. As she got closer, the first two things she noticed were the girl's long silvery hair, and the fact that she was unmistakably pregnant. Sansa walked over and sat on the swing next to her.

"Hi," she greeted the other girl shyly. "I'm Sansa, but I don't think I've ever seen you… do you live near here?"

"My name is Daenerys, but you can call me Dany," she said with a bright grin. "I live just around the corner, actually, but I've just moved here."

"Oh, right, that explains it then. It's nice to meet you," Sansa told her, smiling back. "So um… how far along are you?" Sansa nodded to Dany's belly.

"Thirty weeks," she said, placing her hand over her stomach.

"I'm fourteen weeks," Sansa said, glancing down at her own belly, which was carefully hidden by a sweatshirt and layers of clothes. "Do you know what you're having?"

"Congratulations! I couldn't tell, actually. I'm having a boy," she said happily. "What about you? It's early, but have you found out yet?"

"No, not yet. I really haven't told anyone yet, either. My oldest brother knows and I just told my parents an hour ago… It's nice to have someone to speak with about this," Sansa grinned. "Do you have a name picked out yet?"

"Rhaego. It's a combination of my brother's name and the father's name," Dany told her. "And I know how you feel. I don't really have anyone to talk to either, mostly because I'm new and don't know anyone, but… also because none of my friends have had babies yet."

"Oh. None of my friends have either, but they also don't know I'm going to. I haven't even told the father," Sansa confessed. "Everyone keeps telling me to, but he's… difficult to gauge and I don't want to ruin his life."

"You should tell him yourself before he finds out through the rumor mill," Dany advised. "You're still small enough now that you can get away with hoodies and baggy shirts, but in about two months, everyone is going to know. Would you rather he find out from you, or overhear people speaking about it and have it completely blindside him?"

"I need to tell him, don't I? Before someone else does, that is," Sansa sighed and shook her head. It would be hard telling him… couldn't she just explain everything after someone else inadvertently broke the news to him?

She and Daenerys spoke for a while longer, discussing weird symptoms and funny things that had happened to them, before Sansa had to return home for dinner. Before leaving, they exchanged numbers and emails and Sansa sent her an email as soon as she got home. Dinner that night was awkward.

"Sansa has an announcement to make," her father said as soon as everyone's food had successfully made it to his or her plates but before anyone had started eating.

"I do?" she asked innocently.

"You do," he said, making it clear that there were no other options.

"I'm having a baby," she said quietly, but it was loud enough for all of her siblings and Theon to hear.

Theon gaped at her, Robb choked the water he had been sipping, Bran looked concerned, Rickon looked happy (probably because he didn't really understand what was going on), and Arya took the cake by asking who in their right mind would possibly want to have a baby with Sansa. Their parents chastised her, but the question still stood and Sansa awkwardly avoided answering it.

"When are you due?" Robb asked, furrowing his brow. He knew she'd been dating Joffrey and what a little shit he was.

"The first of June. I'm fourteen weeks along," she told them, pushing her food around her plate and avoiding the stares she was sure her siblings were giving her.

"You're having Joffrey Baratheon's spawn?" Theon asked with a guffaw.

"No!" she exclaimed. "I mean, no, it's not his… it's – it's someone else."

Robb looked at her suspiciously when she said this, but said nothing. She racked her brain and tried to think if he would be aware of any other guys she'd been hanging out with. If he knew, it wouldn't be difficult to figure out who the father of her unborn child was as it was a very narrow list consisting of Joffrey Baratheon and Sandor Clegane and since she had just loudly ruled out Joffrey…

After dinner and after she'd completed her homework and was getting ready for bed, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called. Robb walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Having a pup are you?" he asked, letting her know he knew it was Sandor Clegane's baby in her. She hung her head.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I didn't say anything, but don't think I never saw you sneaking off with him," Robb said angrily. "But really Sansa? The Hound? Of all people, why him?"

"He treated me well and was good to me. I like him a lot, Robb," she insisted. "Don't be cruel about it."

"And where is he in all of this? Why haven't I seen him around at all? Gets you pregnant and then fucks off? What kind of good person does that?" he ranted, wildly gesticulating with his hands and Sansa cowered at the head of her bed.

"He doesn't know Robb, he doesn't know," Sansa told him. "I stopped talking to him as soon as I found out and I've been putting off telling him. I don't want him to feel obligated or anything and I don't want him to think I've ruined his life."

"He fucking should feel obligated – he got you pregnant Sansa, that's not the sort of thing you just get away with scotch free!"

"But Robb, I like him! I like him a lot and I don't want him to be mad or hate me for this. I know you think he deserves to be punished or whatever, but it's not like he forced me! He never touched me until I touched him first, okay? Just… just leave it, please? I don't want to fight about him. It's hard enough not even talking to him when I have the reminder of it growing in me," she curled into herself on the bed and reached out a hand to Robb who sighed and went to her, sitting next to her and holding her while stroking her hair.

* * *

i'm so sorry this has taken so long to get up. i'm in america now and have been hit with writer's block in the worst of ways. so i'm stuck in the middle of chapter 11 and i'm not sure how to continue it or where to go from there. but... yeah. hopefully it'll all get better soon. thank you so much for your patience!


	7. Chapter 7

On Christmas morning, Sansa woke up to a distinct nudging from inside of her belly. She couldn't feel anything from the outside, but inside she could feel her baby moving and she hopped out of bed and ran downstairs where everyone but her mother was already waiting to begin opening presents.

"I felt it moving!" she exclaimed excitedly and everyone sleepily stared at her. They gave her slightly muted congratulations, but they didn't really matter, she decided, this was for her. She was sure they'd be interested in a few more weeks when they would be able to feel the baby from the outside. She did send a text to Dany telling her about it, though, and wishing her a merry Christmas.

After all the presents had been opened, Sansa went upstairs, got the Christmas card she'd made for Sandor, which had a print out of an ultrasonic scan of their child in it, and then snuck out the backdoor while the rest of her family was in the living room. She walked through the snowy drifts to his house just down the street and knocked on the door. He answered after a while, looking sleepy and confused, but his expression soon turned to anger when he saw who it was.

"Can I come in?" she asked shyly and he silently stood back from the door, letting her in, and then closing it behind her. She stood awkwardly in the middle of his front room holding his card in her hands before stretching out and giving it to him. He reluctantly took it and fiddled with it as he looked everywhere but at her.

"Are you going to open your card?" she asked after they stood in silence for a few minutes. He shrugged. "You should open it… it's important." He frowned and shrugged again.

"You've ignored me for months. Maybe now I want to ignore you," he said petulantly.

"I've had some stuff going on with me lately… I didn't want to involve you in it. It's… it's messy and you don't need it," she told him, trying to explain. "If you'd read the card, it would explain a lot."

"Are you done?" he asked, angrily looking down at their feet.

"I guess so… Merry Christmas Sandor," she told him softly as she walked back out of his house.

"Yeah, whatever."

She felt badly about how it had gone and she called Dany to speak about it once she was home again. Dany told her that she'd done the right thing and hopefully he'd come around eventually after he read the card. It was Sansa's worry, though, that he wouldn't even read the card and would instead just throw it out with the trash.

That wasn't the case though, she discovered a few hours later when her father came knocking at her door telling her there was a boy wanting to speak with her. She said she would see him and a few moments later, Sandor walked into her room followed by Eddard, who pushed the door closed behind him and stood next to it, watching them. Sandor glared at him, but Eddard calmly stared back at the boy. He said nothing and looked half-crazed and terrified as he turned and stalked toward where she stood next to her bed. He roughly grabbed her by the arms, making Eddard frown, and looked into her eyes for a moment before yanking the zipper to her sweatshirt down and then pushing up her baggy t-shirt to reveal her distended abdomen, which was big with the child he had put in it. He paused for a short while, staring at the bump that took up most of her midsection before tentatively reaching out and settling his hand over it. His hands were so large in proportion to her body that his splayed fingers covered most of the bump.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice low in fury. Sansa wound her fingers through his, holding his hand to her belly and their child as if it could calm him. She glanced over at her father, willing him away, but he stood as a chaperone as per her mother's previous insistence that she not be allowed alone with a boy.

"I didn't know how," she said simply. "I didn't want you to feel badly about this or hate me for ruining your life." He scoffed at that.

"Don't be stupid," he snapped. "I'm the one who ruined your life. It's my fucking fault. I just assumed you were… taking some sort of precaution, or whatever. You should hate me. It's no wonder you didn't want to speak to me."

"I told you, that's not why I wasn't talking to you. Besides, my life isn't ruined. I'll have the baby, it will be taken care of, and then I'll go on like any normal teenager. I've got it all worked out. I just figured if you never knew you couldn't be angry with me for it. I just didn't want you to be mad…"

"Taken care of? What do you mean?" he asked, baffled. She hadn't included in her card her plans to give the child to Jon and Ygritte.

"Well… my brother said he and his girlfriend would adopt it. I mean, if it's okay with you now, that is. You won't have to pay any money or take care of it or anything… but if you'd like, you could see it whenever you wanted… not that you would want to, but…" She trailed off again awkwardly, not knowing how to speak to him about their child that she was carrying, especially not in front of her father. He didn't say anything and Sansa shifted awkwardly but kept her hand against his where it rested on her belly.

"I'm seventeen and a half weeks along… you should be able to feel it kicking from the outside in the next few weeks if you want," she told him quietly.

Sandor glanced up at her briefly and back down, continuing to frown at her belly. His thumb moved lightly across it, stroking her skin. It felt nice to have him touching her again, even if she was pretty sure he was still really angry about the whole thing, especially about her having not told him. She really had missed him, she mused.

"What is it?" he asked suddenly.

"I don't know yet," she told him. "I have an appointment in a couple weeks to find out. You can come if you'd like."

He was still and silent for a moment and then nodded. Sansa worried her lip for a moment before asking "Are you angry with me?" He shook his head no.

"I'm angry with myself. I shouldn't have done this to you," he grumbled.

"A baby isn't a mistake only one person can make, Sandor," Sansa whispered. He was acting as though he'd held her down and gotten her pregnant against her will and on purpose. She knew neither of them had meant it to happen and he should know that she'd wanted him just as much as he'd wanted her.

"I should have been better," he snapped.

"Stop it Sandor. We did this together; you can't take the whole blame for it," she told him and reached for his face, running her fingers over his scarred cheek, he glanced up at her and then away, pulling back from her and stepping away.

"And at school?" he asked, glowering at her. "Just going to go back to ignoring me?"

Sansa shook her head. "No. I'm yours if you'll have me."

"And then everyone can blame me for that, is that right?" he asked, pointing to her belly. "After all, it is my fault. No, Sansa. No one has to know you've got the bastard of the Hound in there."

"Stop being like this Sandor. I want you. I wanted you before all this. I wanted you before you took me back to your house when I was drunk that first night. I don't care what anyone says or thinks, I like you and I want you and this is our baby," she insisted. "I won't tell anyone it's yours if you don't want – only my family knows now and they wouldn't tell if I asked them not to. Besides, I'll need someone to hold my hand when everyone finds out and starts talking."

"No. I fucked up. I'll stand by you," he told her, taking a step back toward her. He wouldn't admit that he wanted her too, but she knew he did and she'd get it out of him eventually. Sansa reached out and took his hand, looking up into his eyes. She couldn't read his expression but he didn't look as furious anymore.

They stared at each other for a while longer, not needing words, before Sansa pulled him down to sit on her bed and sat down next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in the smell of him. It comforted her and she knew he'd do whatever he could to protect her from people at school who would say terrible things about her and try to bully her. She glanced at where her father had been, but found him gone and the door open; probably to give their discussion more privacy. She was sure he'd be standing outside the door to make sure nothing inappropriate happened.

Later on, Sansa brought Sandor downstairs to introduce him to the rest of her family. He was kind of rude, but she could tell he was trying and just didn't know how to act around them. Her mother was horrified but concealing it well enough to be polite and her father looked concerned – having heard bits of their earlier conversation and seeing Sandor's temper. Robb glared and Theon snickered. Her younger siblings didn't seem to care much either way, and it was really only Jon who had anything nice to say to him at all, having heard of him from Sansa previously. Ygritte made inappropriate comments about his height in relation to other body parts and told Sansa that she was a lucky girl. Out of all of her family, it was Jon and Ygritte that Sandor seemed to get along with best and Sansa was glad of it as they'd be adopting his child and it was good that he at least seemed to like them. Ned reluctantly invited him to stay for dinner, which he accepted, and Sansa walked back to his house with him afterward having been told if she wasn't back in just a few minutes, she'd be in bigger trouble than she already was.

"I'm sorry if I ruined your Christmas… it's just… you needed to know," she told him, standing in his front room as he stripped out of his coat and stepped out of his boots, tossing them to the side of the door.

"You didn't ruin it. It couldn't have gotten worse than it already was, anyway. 'Merry Christmas look we made a baby' is not the worst thing I could have heard today," he stated. "It would be better if you didn't have to deal with this until you're a married and grown woman, but at least you're talking to me again."

"It's done. I'm fine and it's being dealt with. In a few months you can forget it ever happened. If you like, we can just pretend that this child came from Jon and Ygritte instead of being ours. It's not like it will be implausible given what we look like and what they look like," she told him with a shrug. It was true, anyway. Sandor had the Stark colouring and Ygritte and Sansa had nearly the same colour hair.

Sandor reached out and placed his hand over her belly once more and shook his head. "I don't want to forget. I know I'm not an ideal person to have a baby with, but as long as it's still in you, it's ours… and even when it's been born, it will still be my blood. No legal papers can change that. I don't care if I have to be Uncle Sandy or whatever, I do want to be involved. Besides, it's only fair. This is my fault."

Sansa sighed; he just wouldn't drop the blame for this. She didn't place it solely on his shoulders, but he seemed to want to martyr himself for it. If only he'd stop torturing himself over it maybe they could stop talking in circles about this. She decided to just drop it though and hope he'd come around and stop hating himself for it eventually. Instead of saying anything, she leaned into his touch and rested her hands against his arms. She reached up on her toes and kissed him softly on the cheek before pulling away and going to the door.

"Merry Christmas Sandor," she told him before heading out into the snow to go back home before her parents freaked out about her being gone alone too long with the father of her child.

* * *

so i think, from reviews, everyone has been waiting for this chapter for a really long while. i hope it hasn't disappointed and i'm sorry it's taken me so long to get it up. i'm still struggling with chapter 11! i'll probably try and get my friend to help me with that, though. :) enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

When school resumed in the new year, Sansa was nervous. She'd grown even larger over the two weeks of Winter Vacation, but layering with hoodies seemed to still be working to conceal her ever-growing belly. She couldn't hide the glow she'd acquired or her swollen ankles or cravings or mood-swings, but she hoped that everyone was just too absorbed in themselves to notice that kind of symptoms without noticing her big belly. Carrying her books in front of her stomach seemed to help as well and there hadn't even been any rumors that she was pregnant, so that was reassuring.

Instead of having Robb drive her to school as usual, Sansa opted to go with Sandor in his truck. They had been spending more time with each other over the break and although almost all of what Sandor said was rude and brash, Sansa couldn't help but like him. When they got to school and walked in together holding hands, not many people even seemed to notice. She didn't know why, but she'd expected gaping stares and whispers to follow them around. It wasn't even until they passed Joffrey that anyone said anything.

"You're certainly slumming it Stark," Joffrey called and she could see Margaery giggling by his side. "Are you letting him fuck you, or just holding the doggie's paw to make him feel better about his horrible face?"

Sandor glared at the boy, but Sansa pulled him along and away to her locker. "Ignore him, he's bullshit," she said.

"I don't like him talking about you that way," he growled.

"We'll just pay him no mind," she told him comfortingly.

He walked her to her first class of the morning and they were met by Jeyne Poole's shocked face. Sandor saw and sneered at the girl, Sansa simply smiled and kissed Sandor on the cheek before dropping his hand with a squeeze and turning into the class pulling Jeyne along with her while the other girl gaped like a fish. In class, they sat next to each other and Jeyne fervently scribbled something down on a piece of paper and slid it to Sansa.

'WTF were you doing with him?'

Sansa read it and glanced at Jeyne's imploring face; she looked startled and horrified as if Sansa had told her she was screwing her own brother. Surely being seen with Sandor Clegane was not the worst of social offenses Sansa could have committed. She knew he made no effort to be pleasing to other people, but his blunt honesty was better than anyone else's pretty lies. There was also that despite his face, he had the body of a god – made hard and strong from years of sports practice.

'I like him. We're dating.'

Jeyne looked at her like she was crazy and Sansa simply shrugged, finding she had no other answer to give. She tore off a corner of her own paper and wrote her own note to Jeyne, hoping the other girl would acquiesce to her request.

'I have to tell you something important. Can you come to my house after school?'

Her friend looked at her questioningly, but nodded in the affirmative all the same.

When school had ended, Sansa met up with Jeyne in the front hall and they went to the parking lot to find Robb and get a ride back to Sansa's house. Robb looked surprised that Sansa had Jeyne with her and wasn't going home with Sandor, but drove them all the same, not making conversation in case he misspoke and said something Jeyne didn't know. When they got to the Stark's home, Jeyne followed Sansa up to her room where they sat on the bed.

"Why are you dating him Sansa?" she asked as soon as they'd sat down.

"He treats me well, and like I told you earlier, I like him," Sansa told her. "But I have to tell you something. You have to promise you won't be upset with me though."

"Okay… I'll try not to be upset. What is it?" Jeyne asked, sounding hesitant.

"I'm pregnant," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What? Are you serious? How far along are you?" Jeyne stared at Sansa in horror. She pulled off her hoodie and t-shirt leaving her in a tight tank-top that clung to her sizeable belly bump.

"I'm nineteen weeks," she said softly, running her hand over her abdomen.

"Oh my God. So it's Joffrey's? How could you let this happen?" Sansa shook her head.

"No, no it isn't Joffrey's. I cheated on him months ago. I didn't even tell anyone, but you're the first person I wanted to tell. I mean, aside from Sandor, but he had to know; it's his kid."

"You cheated on Joffrey Baratheon with Sandor Clegane?" Jeyne asked incredulously.

"You saw how Joffrey treated me… he was horrible, and Sandor always stuck up for me and would protect me from him when he could. He was sweet… and anyway, he's built really well and he's strong and… you just have to get to know him, really. He's not as bad as people think he is."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

"I put off telling everyone, really. I didn't tell my parents for weeks… I was already showing when I told them and the rest of my family. The only person I really told was Jon. I mean, I told my friend Dany, too. She's been really great and I don't mean I'm replacing you with her or anything, it's just… she's pregnant too. Further along than I am and she's a few years older, but I just… I didn't have anyone else to talk to and I wasn't ready to tell anyone but Jon yet. I only told Sandor himself on Christmas."

"What, really? How did he take it?"

"He hates himself for it. I've told him so many times that it's fine and everything's going to work out, but he still thinks he's ruined my life."

They spoke longer about what would happen with the baby once it was born and how sorry Sansa was that she hadn't told Jeyne sooner and by the time they were finished, they'd made up entirely from the deception. Jeyne promised to keep Sansa's secret and stayed for dinner with the Starks. It was such a relief for Sansa to have her best friend know and to not have to keep her body hidden around the other girl who, if she was telling the truth, was actually quite excited about the prospect of Sansa having a baby – even if she was horrified about who the father was.

Later on in the week, Sansa took Jeyne with her to hang out with Dany one day after school. Sansa wanted her to be certain that she wasn't being replaced, just that she needed Dany as a friend for different reasons than she needed Jeyne; namely because Dany could tell her what was to come in terms of her pregnancy as she was sixteen weeks ahead of Sansa herself. Dany herself was 35 weeks along and soon nearing her due date. Jeyne and Sansa were both intrigued by the way they could rest their hands on Dany's belly and feel Rhaego kicking. Only Sansa could feel her child, but Dany told her it wouldn't be long before it could be felt from the outside as well and Jeyne was delighted.

"Have you thought of any names?" Jeyne asked.

"Well, I don't even know what it is yet. Sandor is coming with me for my ultrasound next week to find out, but I don't really think it's my place to name it anyway, seeing as I'll just be giving it away to Jon and Ygritte. I think they should decide on a name. Unless they ask me, of course, but I really haven't thought of it anyway," she told them. She wondered if Sandor cared either way; they hadn't even talked about it.

Later, when she got home, Arya was sitting on her bed waiting for her with her arms crossed over her chest. She and her younger sister had never been close as Sansa had always been into girly things and Arya was more interested in the things her brothers were. It left Sansa alone with her interests, a thing she'd always rather resented Arya for when they were children. They still weren't the best of friends or anything, but they didn't fight as much anymore.

"What is it like?" the younger girl asked and Sansa quirked a brow at her.

"What is what like?"

"What's it like being pregnant?" Arya clarified.

"It's hard to explain. It's weird. It used to make me sick a lot, like I felt really gross and tired for the first bit, but now it's better I guess. The best bit is feeling the baby move," she told her. "It feels like bubbles or butterflies or something."

"Do you love it?"

"Yes."

"But you're giving it away…"

"I'm only giving it to Jon and Ygritte. It's not like I'll never see it again. I'll get to watch it grow up being cared for people who actually have time and money for it. I think that's better than raising it myself where it might not have two parents who can care for it properly and while I'm trying to go to school and stuff. Do you know what I mean?" Sansa asked. "I have to love it more and be less selfish to give it what is best for it, don't I?"

"I guess… does he want the baby?"

"Who? Jon? Of course he does," Sansa shook her head, confused.

"No, not Jon. The father… Sandor," Arya clarified awkwardly.

"I – I don't know… we've never really talked about it. I told him I was giving the baby to Jon as soon as I told him I was even pregnant. All he's ever really said either way is that he's sorry he ruined my life like this. But I don't even feel like he did, since it's all being taken care of anyway."

"Maybe you should ask him. Why did you do it with him? Why didn't you use protection?"

"The first time, it was because he was so nice to me. I could kind of disregard his face and it just didn't seem to matter while – while we were doing it. And then after that, I think we just did it because it felt good. We haven't since I told him though… I think he's scared it'll hurt the baby – or maybe he just doesn't want to since I'm like this. And I didn't use protection because I was stupid. I don't even really have a reason for it. I just… got caught up, I guess. He assumed I was on birth control and didn't insist on using anything because of it. We were thoughtless and it's come to bite us in the ass."

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know. I might."

"And does he love you?"

"No. I mean… I don't think so. He's never said so, anyway."

"Well have you ever told him how you feel?"

"No, he'd probably stop talking to me. He's not really the sort… I guess…"

"Maybe you should tell him. You might be surprised. He could feel the same."

Sansa shrugged and sat down next to Arya on the bed.

"Why are you so curious?" Sansa asked.

"There's a guy… no one has ever really noticed me before… but… I like him, I think. And he calls me lovely. I know I'm not pretty, but I think he might like me and I like the way he looks and I might like him. I don't know. I just… I'm certainly not going to do anything like what you have, I'm too young of course, I just wanted to talk to you about boys and stuff."

"That's fine Arya. And you are pretty! Father always says how you look just like aunt Lyanna and everyone always says how beautiful she was. You'll be prettier as you get older, too. Tell me more about this guy though. What's his name?"

"Jaqen..."

They spoke of the man for a while longer and from what Arya said, Sansa could tell he was quite smitten with her sister, but it wasn't her place to say either way, so she didn't. It was the first time she'd really had a conversation with Arya in a long time and it was a nice feeling to be bonding with Arya over something they actually had in common – boy issues. Instead of going to her own room when it got late, Arya curled into bed next to Sansa and fell asleep.

* * *

I'm so so sorry this took so long! I've finally managed to finish chapter 11 and I believe my writer's block is rather cured as I've set things up for chapter 12 and I have some more ideas for the rest of this. All of your subscribes and reviews mean the world, so thank you all so much! - also, people have been asking why I don't just post all the chapters I've written - because that would leave you with long gaps of time where nothing has been posted! I'm trying to keep a slightly more even flow than bursts of chapters every so often. Hopefully that's okay... I try and time it to about 8-10 days between updates, depending. I'm sorry if I'm derp-failing at it lately. I should be more consistent now that I seem to have gotten my groove back (hopefully!). Honestly, though, it's a lot of thanks to two new HS AU stories that have popped up. One on ff . net, and another on ao3 called "gossip spyder". If you like my story, you should definitely go read that because it's absolutely brilliant!


	9. Chapter 9

On Wednesday after school, Sansa went with Sandor to the OBGYN's office for her 20 week ultrasound and exam. He was pale and quiet on the way there and she could tell he was nervous. When they got there, he stood quietly hulking behind her as she signed in and then waited to see her doctor. He'd seen pictures of the baby before, but never heard its heart beat nor seen it in videos, so she could understand his nervousness.

He clung to her hand, looking away through most of the exam. Sansa flinched as cold gel was squirted onto her belly and then watched the screen as the fuzzy picture came up, wand moving across her belly to properly find the image of her child. She could hear the weird electronic interpretation of their baby's heart beat and could tell when Sandor looked up and saw the image of their child. His hand squeezed hers and she heard his sharp intake of breath. Sansa glanced over at him and he was frozen staring at the screen; staring at their baby.

"Do you want to know the sex of your baby?" Dr. Pylos asked, glancing over at the two teenagers. Sansa glanced at Sandor and he nodded, still staring at the screen.

"Yes."

"You're having a boy," he told them.

"A boy? We're having a son Sandor."

He was silently in shock until they got back to his house. Sansa sat with him on the couch in his front room, holding his hand as he stared blankly ahead. Sansa squeezed his hand but he didn't respond. She rested her head against his shoulder and put her arms around him. He let her stay clinging to him until it grew dark.

"You should go home, your family will be wondering about you," he told her, standing from the couch to get her things for her. "You should tell them you're having a boy; I'm sure they'll be excited."

Sandor let her go with a kiss and watched from the sidewalk as she got home safely and then went back inside his own home himself. Sansa got in just as dinner was about to begin. She quickly put her school things up in her room and washed her hands for dinner before sitting down with the rest of her family – minus Jon – at the table. She waited until everyone was eating to announce her news.

"So I went to the doctor's today," she began, getting everyone's attention with her few words. "I'm having a boy."

The Starks were pleased enough for her, considering the circumstances that she was fourteen and pregnant to a boy four years older who they didn't know well and who had a pretty atrocious reputation.

"Does the Clegane boy know?" her mother inquired. Sansa nodded.

"He came with me for my appointment. I still have to tell Jon and Ygritte, though."

"And what does his family think about all of this?" she asked. The last time he'd been discussed was on Christmas when he was at dinner, and having just found out, he hadn't spoken to anyone about it. Even now, Sansa was fairly certain he still hadn't spoken to anyone about it as he didn't speak much to anyone but her and if he did, it wasn't about anything personal.

"He doesn't have a family. His parents and sister are dead and his brother… he's a tough guy to deal with," Sansa explained quietly. "Sandor is fine with giving the baby to Jon and Ygritte, though. Not that I gave him much of a choice."

After dinner, Sansa sat with her father in his study. Eddard was working on paperwork and Sansa was finishing up her homework. She was her mother's daughter as opposed to Arya's being a daddy's girl, but she still enjoyed being with her father when he wasn't busy with his work.

"Are you angry with me?" Sansa asked.

"No child, not angry," he told her, glancing up from his work at her worried face. "I had hoped you'd be more careful when the time came. I didn't want you to have to deal with such adult things until you were properly grown."

"I wish I'd been more careful too."

"I'm proud of how you're handling all of this, though, Sansa. You're doing a very good job in a very hard situation."

"Thank you father," she said primly, beaming at him.

They both went back to doing their work, and once Sansa had finished, she went to bed.

The next day, Sansa had Jon pick her up from school so that she could tell he and Ygritte in person that they would be having a son. It was hard to stay quiet about the baby on the ride to the apartment downtown, but Sansa didn't want to play favourites and let Jon know before Ygritte, as even though he was her brother, they would both be the parents. When they arrived at the downtown loft Jon and Ygritte lived in, Sansa sat them both down on the couch before telling them they'd be having a son. She was relieved to find that they hadn't cared either way and were excited.

"Had you thought of any names?" Jon asked.

"Oh. Well, I thought I would let you guys name him. It might be easier that way, for me, anyway," she told him.

"Has Sandor said anything about it either way?" Ygritte wondered.

"No," Sansa replied. "But he doesn't really say much of anything about this, to be honest. I don't think he even knows how to feel about it all."

Three weeks later, Sansa stood looking at herself in the mirror. It was a Monday and she'd just gotten ready for school. Her makeup done, hair down and straightened, dressed in a hoodie and leggings with boots fit for the winter weather of early February. Unfortunately, she'd grown over the weekend, and while she'd been somehow able to hide her belly with Sandor's over-sized hoodie for the past few weeks, even that was not cutting it today. Her bump had grown with the child and stuck out against the hoodie. She turned every which way in the mirror and yet couldn't seem to find an angle or way of holding herself that would disguise the fact that she was indeed nearly seven months pregnant. There was also the duck waddle she had that had grown more prominent as her hips spread apart to get ready for her son to fit through her hip bones.

Sansa sighed and slipped her jacket and backpack on before heading downstairs. She had a quick breakfast and then walked over to Sandor's house. She'd had a hard time sleeping and it was still an hour before they would even have to leave for school. Sansa slipped into the back door when he didn't answer the front one. She set down her bag and jacket in the front room and then quietly went into Sandor's bedroom where he was still asleep. She climbed into bed with him and snuggled against him. He woke up enough to pull her into his arms and nuzzle his face into her hair before falling back asleep. Sansa smiled and quietly let herself rest in his arms, liking how sweet he always was in his sleep. He always seemed more vulnerable in sleep than he would allow himself to when awake.

"I'm showing," she whispered to him a while later when he seemed to be waking again.

"You've been showing," he grumbled sleepily, dragging a hand across his face.

"No. I mean. I'm wearing your hoodie and I'm showing through it. I grew this weekend, I think," she told him. "I can't hide this anymore."

"Anyone says shit, they'll get a fist in the teeth."

He pulled her back to him and clamped his arm around her midsection, pulling her body flush to his and sliding his hand up underneath her shirts to rest on the warm skin of her belly. He was idly stroking his fingers across her skin when he stopped suddenly and she heard his sharp intake of breath as he splayed his hand across her belly.

"It moved," he whispered breathlessly.

"He likes you," Sansa told him. "He kicks a lot when you talk or when I'm around you. I didn't realize you'd be able to feel him now. Do you like it?"

She felt him nod.

At school, Sansa walked in clinging to Sandor's hand. Today, she'd made no attempt to hide her belly by carrying anything in front of her. Everyone would find out anyway so why even bother? She still wore his hoodie he'd let her have months before, but as she'd discovered; it was obvious now that she was having a baby.

She felt the stares on her as they walked through the halls but it wasn't until they encountered Joffrey that anyone actually said anything. He frowned angrily at her belly, knowing she had to be far enough along that they'd probably been dating when she had gotten pregnant.

"Stupid bitch, got yourself knocked up did you?" he called loudly, drawing stares from random kids in the hall who were walking by. "Whose is it, then? I certainly never fucked you!"

"It's mine," Sandor growled at him. "Now shut the fuck up and don't ever talk to her again."

Joffrey looked quite put out and unhappy to be called out by the older boy whom he'd once looked up to. Even worse that Sansa had clearly cheated on him with the less than handsome Hound when she could have had the golden prince. Sandor probably thought it had to do more with Joffrey having been cruel to her and him protecting her from him, but if Sansa was honest, her fascination with Sandor had little to do with the way Joffrey had treated her – she had chosen Sandor over anyone else she could have been with anyway.

All day, Sansa could feel people staring at her, but no one really said anything to her, most kept their distance slightly. There were a few questions like did she know her due date or what she was having, but aside from that, people seemed to mostly be polite enough to mind their own business in front of her. No one had even bothered to ask the ridiculously invasive question of who the father was – aside from Joffrey, of course. This was all Sansa herself could tell, anyway, reports from other people were slightly different.

On the drive home, Sandor had confessed to threatening two different people for calling Sansa a whore in front of him. When she got home, Robb had told her he'd been asked about her a few times throughout the day – people wondering if the rumors that she was pregnant were true. He'd been careful to dispel anything that was untrue while not giving away anything new or anything she didn't want people knowing. His solution had been to encourage people to instead ask her themselves.

With people knowing, it took some of the stress from Sansa as she no longer had to put effort into hiding her pregnancy. Instead of wearing overlarge clothing and hiding herself in hoodies no matter how warm it got inside with the heating, she could now wear whatever she pleased instead of sweating like a pig in hot layers. As such, her father gave her money to get proper maternity clothing that would fit her properly for the rest of her pregnancy. She went shopping with Jeyne again. While she'd have preferred to go with Dany for such a thing, the older girl's due date was just a week away and so dragging her around the mall probably wouldn't be the best of ideas.

Eddard drove and dropped them off at the mall after school on Tuesday. Sansa took her time trying on many different things as per Jeyne's suggestions and her own preferences. She spent most of her money on jeans and shorts for the spring and decided to raid Sandor's wardrobe for his extensive collection of band t-shirts in sizes large enough to fit over her belly well enough. She did pick out several long tank tops to work for layering, though.

* * *

alright, hey guys! as it turns out, my writer's block WAS gone entirely! i've been on a crazy writing frenzy lately and this story is completely finished! i'm not sure if i'm going to be writing an epilogue yet, but without one, this story is 18 chapters long and currently in draft mode. even though it is finished and i'll be updating every few days, please keep reviewing as it's still a draft and reviews do have an influence on the story as well as helping me to make it better as i'm going along. so please don't forget to review once you've read so that i know if i'm on the right track or not. thank you all so, so much. i'm really pleased to have finally completed such a long story!


	10. Chapter 10

It was early on a Saturday when Sansa's phone rang, waking her up. Most of her friends usually texted her rather than calling and she answered without glancing at the screen to see who it was, assuming that if someone was calling, it was probably important.

"Hello?" she inquired sleepily.

"Hi, uh, this is Sansa?" It was a man's voice, one she'd never heard before.

"Yes, speaking," she clarified.

"Uhm Hi, my name is Jorah, I'm a friend of Dany's…"

"Okay…"

"Dany is in labor right now and wanted me to call and ask you to come," he told her.

Sansa's heart lept. Rhaego was coming! She told Jorah she'd come as soon as she could and asked him for the details of where they were. After she'd written everything down, she quickly dressed and waddled downstairs, grabbing a breakfast bar to eat and walking to Sandor's as quickly as she could manage with spreading hipbones and swollen ankles.

He was asleep when she got there, but she quickly woke him up and told him she needed a ride to the hospital. He quickly got out of bed at that and rapidly began throwing clothes on, at which point she realized he'd misunderstood her and thought that she needed to go to the hospital for her own medical reasons.

"Oh, Sandor! You don't have to hurry that quickly!" she told him. "My friend Dany is having her baby right now and she wants me to be there for it."

He grumbled something about why hadn't she said sooner, and grew lazier with his pace. He grabbed some food for himself and then followed behind Sansa as she walked out to his truck. He helped her up and then went around to the driver's side and hopped in. He drove them to the hospital and dropped Sansa off at the entrance, going to park the truck himself. Sansa walked in and found her way up to the maternity ward where Jorah said he'd be waiting for her.

It was strange and scary for Sansa, sitting and holding Dany's hand as she gritted her teeth in pain, knowing that Sansa herself would be going through this same ordeal in a few months time. Sandor waited in the waiting room and Jorah was nervously standing in the hall and Sansa wondered what his relationship to Dany and her child was, but thought that now was, perhaps, not the best time to ask. Sansa hadn't expected herself to cry when Rhaego was finally born, but she did – it must have been all the hormones from her own pregnancy.

Dany's son was beautiful. He was perfect in every way from his dark, dark hair and tanned skin (which Sansa assumed he got from Drogo) to his violet eyes and perfectly formed face, which he had clearly inherited from his mother. He barely cried when he was born, instead looking around and setting his eyes straight on his mother after a quick glance around the room. Sansa had never seen Dany look so overjoyed and smiled brightly at her friend. She gave her quick congratulations and excused herself from the room. In the hall, she told Jorah that the boy was fine, as was his mother, before rushing to the waiting room to find Sandor. She couldn't believe that in mere months they would be going through the same thing themselves and it set her stomach tickling with butterflies – even though she knew they wouldn't be keeping their child.

"Oh, Sandor! He's so beautiful," she exclaimed excitedly once she had found him. "He's so cute and he looks just like his parents. Do you think ours will look like us?"

Sandor pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head, stroking his fingers through her hair.

"Don't think about it Little Bird," he told her quietly. "It will just make you sad to think of. I'm sure the child will look passably like your brother and his girlfriend and that's all we need to worry about. It's theirs, remember?"

Sansa sighed sadly and nodded. "I know… I just… I was excited – I _am_ excited."

"It's fine to be excited and all, but just remember you can't keep him, okay?" he said, still stroking her hair. "The most we'll ever get to do is visit or maybe babysit sometimes. I don't want you to be sadder than you have to or for this to be harder on us than it already will be."

"You're right, of course you are. Let's just go see Rhaego together, can't we?" Sansa asked, pulling on him. He nodded and let himself be led onto the ward and into Dany's room where everything had been cleaned and taken care of and she was sitting in bed holding her son as she conversed with Jorah.

Sandor was abnormally quiet when they returned home in his truck later and Sansa wondered why.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just worried," he confessed.

"About what?"

"If we're going about this in the right way." Sansa waited for him to continue, and after a pause, he did. "I think it would be easier to just put the baby up for adoption and have good people we'll never meet take him and we'll never have to see what should have been ours. It'll be hard just having to watch as someone else takes care of our son. It's hard anyway, but having to see it…"

"You don't have to," Sansa told him with a frown. "If you want, once he's born you can pretend nothing ever happened and just go on as though you're no one's father. I want this, though. I can't take care of him, but I love him enough that I can just be his aunt or however Jon and Ygritte feel most comfortable with me being in his life. Jon is my brother, not yours, you don't have to be there for any of it."

"I don't mean – I just want you to be okay with everything that happens. It's just you that matters."

"You matter too. If this is something you can't do, it's okay. I'll have the baby and you never have to see him again if you don't want. It's really okay with me Sandor."

He nodded and was quiet the rest of the way back to her house. He gave her hand a squeeze before she jumped out of his truck and watched him drive away feeling confused. Upon arriving inside, her father was waiting for her. It was early evening, but she'd been gone all day and hadn't told anyone where she was.

"Come speak to me in my office," he told her and she followed him up the stairs.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked, sitting into the chair behind his desk and beckoning her to sit in the chair in front of it. It felt like an interrogation.

"I was with my friend Daenerys. She had a baby today," Sansa explained. "She's new around and I'm one of the only girl friends she's got."

"How did it feel watching someone give birth?" Eddard inquired.

"It made me nervous – but also kind of excited. Sandor is worried about it though. I think he's afraid it's going to be too hard to let the baby go and let Jon and Ygritte be his parents instead of us. He told me he thought it would be easier if we just gave him away to people we didn't know and never saw him again," Sansa told her father.

"And what do you think about it?"

"I want to watch him grow up. I know Jon and Ygritte will be his real and legal parents, but he'll still be of my blood and I think it's important he be a Stark and stay with his true family. That's what you did with Jon… wasn't it? When his mother died, instead of giving him away you kept him even though it made mother mad"

"You are so much like your mother, but sometimes I can really tell that you are indeed my own daughter, too," he told her and Sansa smiled. "If you think you can handle being around your son like that, then I'll support your decision, especially if that boy can't handle it or doesn't want to."

"I think it's mostly that he's never had much of a family life and he's worried that being that close to actually having a family without really being a family would hurt him. I think he'll be able to come to terms with it, though. Even if he can't… I still want to be with him. I just won't bring him around if Jon's over with the baby if he can't deal with it."

"You're stronger than you look Sansa," Eddard told her pensively before sending her off to bed.

* * *

Hey all! I'm going to be updating super a lot this next week or so as I leave on Friday to Toronto for a few days and then will be gone for 40 days on an extensive road trip through the lower 48 + BC and AB. Soo… yeah, no posting or writing during that. As such, you should expect a daily update of this story, yaaay! But please don't forget to keep reviewing so I can do some quick edits and polish everything up.

After chapter 9, a lot of you reviewed and said that you really wanted to hear more about Sandor's feelings on the pregnancy and adoption and such. The last time I actually read this chapter was when I wrote it (weeks ago) and miraculously I apparently anticipated that it was a good point in which to insert Sandor's feelings, so, wish granted! (even though I'd already written it in and had just forgot about it)

Thank you to every one of my faithful readers and also to all the awesome new ones who are only just now joining!


	11. Chapter 11

On Monday at school, Sansa walked from class to class on Sandor's arm with her head down. No one actually said anything to her for fear of her infamous boyfriend, but she saw the looks they gave her and heard the whispers that followed her. It wasn't everyone, of course, some people were being supportive and some didn't seem to care either way; it was them she tried to associate with as opposed to rumor spreaders and two-faced gossips. It wasn't as if she was the first girl to ever get pregnant at their school, but she hadn't really known of any others. Of course having Dany to talk to was good but now that she had Rhaego newly born, she was busier and besides, she wasn't in high school anyway. Sandor himself could only do so much. He could of course keep anyone from talking to her directly, but even the Hound could not stop the rumours that circulated about her. It was just the general juvenile things said about her: that she was a stupid whore for getting knocked up.

Sansa had just gotten out of her biology class and was waiting for Sandor to show up when a handsome boy walked up to her. His bright blue eyes captured hers and his easy smile to her made her stomach flip a little. She knew who he was, but had never spoken to him.

"Hello Sansa. How are you doing?" Renly Baratheon inquired. He was Joffrey's easy going and humorous uncle, his father's youngest brother, and if the rumour mill was to be believed, Loras Tyrell's boyfriend. Sansa hadn't even known he knew who she was.

"As well as can be expected really," she told him as she blushed. Renly was really popular and both he and Loras were gorgeous. They rarely spoke to girls at all so Sansa felt honoured that Renly had sought her out. She wasn't sure why, though.

"I hope no one has given you too hard of a time about all this," he said kindly.

"Joffrey hasn't been very nice, but I think everyone else is too afraid of what Sandor will do to them to say anything," she confessed and Renly grinned widely at her.

"My nephew is a little shit. He never deserved you in the first place. Clegane though… perhaps a nice girl like you can cool his temper a bit." It was easy talking to Renly and Sansa was sad she'd never tried speaking with him before then. "The muscles on that one though… no wonder you cheated on my shrimpy little nephew. Neither Loras nor I understand what his sister sees in him, but whatever, it's not really my business."

Renly glanced away from her then and she followed his eyes to Loras and slightly behind him, Sandor was walking toward them, looking surlier than usual. Sansa bit her lip.

"Right, well I just wanted to make sure you're okay," Renly told her. "If there's any way Loras or I can help or anything we can do, just let me know. Have a good day Sansa!"

With that, he was off and Sansa watched his easy smile to Sandor as the taller boy glared at him. He laughed to himself and shook his head before walking to Loras and heading off with the other boy. Sandor had an angry frown and his arms crossed over his chest when he reached her. Sansa sighed.

"I was only talking with Renly. You have nothing to worry about," she assured him.

"What were you talking about?"

"He was just seeing if I was okay and if anyone was making fun of me and he could help. He's just being nice is all," Sansa told him.

"Maybe he should be nice to someone else's girlfriend… or get his own."

"Oh stop," Sansa said, rolling her eyes. "He's probably dating Loras Tyrell. You have nothing to worry about. I'm yours and I'm having your baby – I'm not just going to randomly leave you for Renly Baratheon. He was just being nice, really."

"Fine. But I hope you told him I can deal with anyone who tries to say anything about you," Sandor grumbled.

"He knows already. Really, don't worry about it. He's just a friend. He probably feels bad because Joffrey is horrible to me. But come on, we're going to be late if we don't go now."

Over the next few weeks Sansa talked to Renly more frequently. He was friendly and nice and made her feel like she'd never messed up her reputation at all. He tended not to mention it, in fact, that she had a child growing inside of her. They just spoke of whatever they wanted to, even though her stomach grew and grew.

She was more than halfway through her pregnancy and winter was turning to spring. Rugby season was coming up and Sandor was back into sports training for it. Sansa had enjoyed the whole break of winter as he didn't play any winter sports and spend most of his time with her instead of at sports practices and games. She sat behind him in bed one weekend afternoon, stroking her fingers through his hair.

"What will you do after graduation? Will you go play for the NFL?" she asked.

Sandor snorted and looked up at her.

"The NFL? No way, I'm only eighteen," Sandor laughed.

"Haven't they been scouting you?" Sansa asked.

"I've been scouted to play for college ball, but NFL scouts won't pay any attention to me for at least three more years," he told her, placing a hand against hers. "I was thinking of going to the University of Michigan to play football there."

"Michigan? But that's rather far away…"

"It's only a few hours. There are trains that go from here to there in a few hours, or busses. I'll pay for you to come visit every weekend if you like and I'll be home for holidays and in the summer," he assured her.

"I'll miss seeing you every day."

"It's a long time away. We have the rest of this school year and the whole summer."

"I know… but – "

"Sansa, don't worry about it yet. I'm not even decided yet. I have a few options," he told her and turned, pulling her out from behind him and into his arms. He cradled her there for a while with a hand on her belly, feeling his son kicking against his fingers.

In the weeks that followed, Sansa's belly grew larger and walking from class to class grew more cumbersome and irritating for her. Luckily, Sandor stepped up to his role perfectly and carried her bag and books for her in addition to giving her rides to and from school whenever she wanted.

One weekend in late February, Sansa had just finished her homework and called Sandor to pick her up and go to Dany's with her. The older girl had the splendid idea of getting the two teenagers to come spend some time with she and Rhaego in order to get more used to newborns and to answer any questions they may have.

Sandor grumbled a bit about having to go to rugby practice later on in the day, but went along with Sansa all the same. It seemed that even he could not hold a grim countenance when faced with the bubbly and joyful baby boy. It was rare to see him crack a smile in the presence of someone he barely knew as he did Dany, but the toothless grins and giggles he and Sansa managed to elicit from the boy had him smiling in no time. It also seemed to help that Rhaego seemed entranced with him and not a bit afraid of his face.

"How are things?" Dany asked, glancing over at where Rhaego was being gently cradled by Sansa's massive companion. "How many more weeks do you have?"

"Fourteen more weeks. It's still a ways to go, but being almost three quarters of the way through is crazy. It feels like it's been forever and yet no time at all," she told Dany. "I'm worried about finals and stuff since I'll have to be home-schooled for the final few weeks as I'll be unable to attend school, and then I'm worried about Sandor going away to college, but that's months and months away so I guess I shouldn't worry. Speaking of distances… how is Drogo?"

Dany's husband Drogo was in the Marines infantry and had been stationed in Afghanistan for months. She knew Dany worried about him – for good reason – and hoped all was well. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be going through all of this without Sandor or even bear the thought of him missing their son's birth.

"Well the troops are all slowly being pulled out, so he should be home within the year. Things are still really dangerous over there, though. Hopefully he'll be all right, though. He has been thus-far," Dany spoke quietly and Sansa could tell that despite her words, she was very worried. She rubbed the older girl on the shoulder before glancing back over at Sandor.

He was smiling and playing with Rhaego and Sansa knew that had he been given the chance, he would make a great father. Not like this – though. Hopefully he would get another opportunity in future to have a family that he could take care of after completing his academic goals and whatnot.

Later, when they left, Sansa was walking out to Sandor's truck when a powerful spell of dizziness came over her. She stopped, reeling in the driveway, and tried to regain her equilibrium. The world started to fade around her, but seemed to snap back into brightness as Sandor gripped her steadily, pulling her body against his and looking down into her eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked concernedly. "What's going on?"

"I'm really dizzy," she replied. "I think I was about to black out."

"Fuck, okay. I'm taking you to the hospital," he said.

"No, don't. I'm having another appointment tomorrow – my last of my second trimester – I think it can wait until then. I'll tell you if I suddenly feel worse, though," Sansa had read that dizziness was a normal symptom of pregnancy and didn't want to have to go through tests twice in as many days. "Honestly, I feel okay now. It was just a short spell of dizziness."

Sandor looked skeptically at her, but shrugged all the same before helping her into his truck. He drove them back to their street and parked in front of her house. Instead of just dropping her off as he usually did, he walked up to the front door with her and followed her inside. No one was around when they walked in and he followed her up to her bedroom.

"I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you out of my sight until your appointment tomorrow. What time is it?" he inquired, settling himself down on the floor, leaning against the foot of her bed.

"It's at nine," she told him. "I'm supposed to go to first hour and then my dad is going to pick me up for my appointment."

"No way. What if you fall over because you're dizzy and something happens? You're not going anywhere little bird. I'll drive you tomorrow."

"Stop being crazy. It's just a little bit of dizziness. I'm sure women have dealt with this for thousands of years. It must be completely normal," Sansa told him, rolling her eyes.

He scowled and crossed his arms, but spoke no more after that. She had noticed that she felt a little off lately, but it wasn't too bad and her appointment was so soon anyway that she didn't want to create a fuss over it. If it had really been an emergency, she'd have said something sooner.

* * *

Hey! Look at me go! Everyone asked about Drogo in comments from the last chapter and there he is! (I haven't even had to edit any of these chapters to fill in things people wonder about. Yaaay!)


	12. Chapter 12

Monday morning, Sansa awoke with her body half-curled around Sandor and in her own bed. It was a nice change to sleeping (mostly) alone but it was also risky to have him be there in her bed when either of her parents could come to wake her up in the morning. As soon as she woke up, she gently shook him awake.

"Mmm what?" he yawned, stretching a bit and curling into Sansa, pulling her close and burrowing his face into the space between her neck and the pillow.

"We have to get up. I need to be gone at the normal time so that my parents don't know I'm skipping. You have to sneak out before everyone is up," she told him. He grumbled into her shoulder but pushed himself up and out of the bed. He quickly pulled on the clothes he had removed and grabbed her for a kiss before quickly shuffling out of the room and sneaking out through the house. Sansa listened at her door and heard no yelling, so she quickly got dressed, got her school things, and went down to the kitchen to have breakfast.

"Dad," she grabbed Eddard's attention quickly. "I don't need a ride to my appointment today, Sandor wants to take me."

Eddard raised his eyebrows a little but nodded. "Alright."

"Sansa, can you get Sandor to drop me off at school today?" Arya asked suddenly. Everone kind of stared at her for a moment and she shrugged. "I don't feel like walking today and it's on the way."

Sansa stared at Arya for a while longer and then shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so."

After breakfast, Sansa waited for Arya and then walked down to Sandor's house with her. As soon as they got out of the house, Arya spoke.

"You can't tell mom and dad," she said. Sansa looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Tell them what?" Sansa asked.

"I'm not going to school today… "

"Obviously. But where are you going?"

"Remember how I told you that there is a guy who calls me lovely? Jaqen? I'm hanging out with him."

"Okay… well just be safe and smart. I doubt you would be at all pleased to end up like me," Sansa warned.

"Oh my god, Sansa! I'm not thinking about anything like that at all yet!" Arya cried, sounding horrified. Sansa shrugged.

"Well, okay. But I'm just saying, be careful."

"I will," Arya reassured her.

They arrived at Sandor's and walked in with Sansa's key to find him waiting on the couch of the front room, watching TV. He looked up when they walked in and nodded to Arya before looking Sansa over.

"How are you this morning? I didn't get the chance to ask," he said. "Are you still feeling dizzy or is it better?"

Sansa could see Arya looking at her questioningly from the side but ignored it with a shrug of her shoulder to Sandor.

"I feel a little dizzy and a little off, but it's not too bad, really," she said quietly.

"You're feeling unwell?" Arya asked.

"It's fine. I'm sure it's normal," Sansa replied.

"You almost passed out yesterday. That can't be normal," Sandor said grumpily.

"If you thought something was wrong, why didn't you take her to the hospital?" Arya asked him angrily.

"I tried!" he shot back. "She refused to go."

"And you listened to her? Stupid – the both of you!"

"Okay, that's enough guys," Sansa said, stepping in. "I have an appointment with my OB today anyway, so it doesn't really matter how I was yesterday. I didn't want to go to the hospital and have them do tests when I'll have to get them all done again today anyway. It isn't Sandor's fault, Arya. And Sandor, stop bickering with my sister."

They both huffed grumpily, but shut up. Arya pulled her phone out and shot a quick text to someone before putting it back in her pocket. It wasn't much longer before there was a car honk from outside and Arya ran out with a quick bye. Sansa got to the door in time to see a tall teenage boy step out of a car and ruffle her sister's hair. He was handsome from what she could see and his long red hair had a white chunk through one side, which was odd, but she didn't pay much attention to that as she watched them both get into his car and drive away. She closed the door and shook her head with a sigh. Arya would do what she wanted, but Sansa hoped she would be smarter about everything than she herself had been. Things were working out in her favor, but that was no guarantee that it would be the same for Arya in the event that their circumstances were the same.

"Right… well we'd better get going," Sandor told her. He had changed his clothes before she and Arya had turned up, so he pulled on a jacket before handing off one of his extras to Sansa as her own wasn't fitting over her bump lately. They went out and got into his car and drove to the doctor's office. There was a short wait in the waiting room before they were called back and Sansa was made to get into a gown before having her blood drawn and samples taken.

After a while, Dr. Pylos walked in with her chart in his hand.

"Are you having weakness or dizziness at all?" he asked, looking up at her from the paper in front of him.

"Yes, a lot. How did you know?" she asked.

"Well, it's actually pretty normal to have some dizziness, but your iron levels are pretty low, so that could have something to do with it. I'm going to put you on an iron supplement in addition to your pre-natal vitamins. Another thing that I find concerning is your weight. You were just within the parameters of being on-target for weight gain, but you've not gained any since I saw you last and that's very worrying to me. You need to be eating more or this could get very bad for you and your child," he told her and she could almost feel Sandor's frown from where he sat behind her.

"I've been eating as much as I'm hungry for," Sansa told him quietly.

"You'll need more, though," Dr. Pylos said. "If you're finding you can't eat more solids, you should try to ingest more calories and nutrients in liquid form. I'd recommend either protein shakes or trying to drink at least one serving of Ensure every day. It's pretty easy to find at drugstores or supermarkets. I'd like it if you could try eating more meals, though. Of course there's no point in forcing yourself if it'll make you sick as that will just be counter productive."

"I'll try," she said at the same time as Sandor voiced, "I'll make sure she does."

She glanced back at him and the concerned frown on his face made her belly flip a little. He still hadn't told her he loved her, but at this point, she was almost as sure of his feelings as she was of her own. She knew she loved him very much and was just waiting for the right time to tell him.

In the truck on the way home, it occurred to her then that perhaps he was just as nervous about revealing his own feelings as she was about hers. Perhaps even moreso. Sansa had always found that many boys had desired her, whereas from Sandor's attitude, she generally tended to find that he just expected to get rejected by girls and despite everything they had been through, perhaps he was worried about being rejected by her, too.

He was busy concentrating on the road so she didn't say anything, instead choosing to watch him as he drove, a slight furrow in his brow. When she had first seen him, she'd been attracted to his body, but repulsed by his face. Now that she knew him and couldn't deny that she was in love with him, his face seemed beautiful to her. His face had been bearable before, but now she found that she just enjoyed looking at him. It was like his personality shone through the scars and all she could see was how much he meant to her, rather than the hurt and angry teenager everyone else seemed to see when they looked at him.

"Can we go back to your place before we go to school please?" she asked and he nodded without looking toward her.

When they arrived back on their street, Sandor got out at his house and Sansa followed him inside. She pulled his jacket off of him before shrugging the borrowed jacket off of her shoulders and then pulling him back into his bedroom with her. She lightly pushed him onto the bed and then sat down next to him, twisting her fingers together and looking down at her feet.

"I want to talk to you about something," she began nervously. This might change everything or nothing at all, but she wouldn't know until she told him how she felt.

"What's up?" he asked, sensing she was laying something heavy on him.

"I… um. Well, we haven't really talked about this or anything, but um… ," Sansa took a deep breath before continuing. _Say it. Just say it._ "I've fallen in love with you."

She looked up at Sandor when he laughed softly.

"I never thought I'd ever hear anyone say that to me," he told her softly, taking her hand in his and wrapping an arm around her before pulling her into his strong embrace. Relief flooded her as he clung to her and she rested he head against his shoulder.

"I'm in love with you, too," he told her softly, kissing the top of her head and running his fingers through her hair. Sansa smiled brightly into his neck and gripped him tightly. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way – like she'd been stuffed full of caffeine and lit on fire.

Despite wanting to snuggle into his arms forever, she knew they had school to get back to. It was nearing lunchtime and if they left soon, there would be back in time for lunch and then their afternoon classes. After school, Sandor would have rugby practice so he wouldn't be able to spend time with her until the weekend after the bout they had on Saturday afternoon, which she would, of course, be going to.

"We should go to school," Sansa told him after a while.

"I'd rather stay here with you," he replied softly, pushing his lips to her temple.

"I know. And I feel the same, but we really must go," she told him. They pulled themselves apart and then off the bed and headed to school.

When Sansa got home from school later on, Arya was sitting on her bed waiting for her. She smiled at her younger sister; glad she'd come to speak to her.

"Hey!" she greeted, sitting down on the bed next to Arya. "How was your day with Jaqen?"

"It was good. He's great," Arya told her. "I've never really felt this way before. I mean. I guess I've seen guys who were handsome before, but I never really felt anything for them. Girls go crazy over my friend Gendry, but to me, he's just… my friend Gendry."

Sansa grinned and set her hand against Arya's shoulder.

"Tell me about him?" she asked.

"He's European," she began. "I'm not sure where exactly he's from, though. Maybe Germany? He's handsome, too. I can't believe he has any interest in me, but he seems to. We kept randomly running into each other by chance and he finally asked me out and I said yes. I don't know why. It's just… he's really charming and I really like how he acts towards me. It's as if I have the same effect that he does on me."

"How old is he?" Sansa asked. She knew he looked much older than her sister – older than herself, too. Arya blushed and looked away and Sansa's stomach sunk a little bit.

"He's nineteen," she confessed softly.

"Arya!" Sansa cried. "That's much too old for you! He's even older than Sandor. That's not right for you to be dating someone as old as he is! Does he know how old you are?"

"Not exactly… I told him that I'm sixteen," she said.

"Oh my god. Arya! That's even older than I am. There's no way you look sixteen! And why would you do that? If he thinks you're old enough to consent to things, he'll think it's alright to try them on you!"

"No… it's not like that. It's different with us," Arya explained. "We like each other a lot and there is an attraction, but it's more… romantic than sexual with us. I think even if I offered myself to him, he'd turn it down. He's kissed me, but only ever on the forehead so far. I think he knows I've lied about my age to keep seeing him and is treating me accordingly."

"But still… he's nearly a grown man. He won't always be satisfied with just kissing you on the forehead," Sansa told her.

"I won't always be eleven," Arya shot back at her. "I think by the time I turn seventeen, I'll be ready for other things… more serious things."

"Yeah, but he'll be twenty five by that time. What on earth makes you think he'll stick around that long waiting for you to grow up?" she asked.

"You don't even know him Sansa. You haven't met him yet. He's really unique. You'll just have to meet him, okay? I've asked him to come around for dinner one night with all of us."

"Did you ask mom and dad first?"

"No. But I thought I would tonight at dinner if they're in good moods. Obviously I'm not going to tell them how old he is, though. You really just need to see what he's like – what we're like together. We're not even officially dating, or anything. You just don't understand because of how it is between you and Sandor. I'm not going to have a baby with him – or anyone, for that matter. It's all fine, I promise," Arya said. "And anyway, it's not like Sandor isn't too old for you, either."

"Arya, he's eighteen and I'm fourteen. The age difference between us is half of what it is between you and Jaqen!" Sansa insisted, trying to will her sister into understanding how different it really was.

"It's still illegal though," she said sulkily. "It's totally different between us, though. You just don't understand yet."

"Can you at least have Jon talk to him please? I'd feel better if Jon was okay with it all," Sansa told her. Jon tended to be a good gauge of things. He was a bit older and less hot-headed than Robb, plus he and Arya were really close, so hopefully she would listen to him. It wasn't that she wanted to fight with her sister; it was just that she was worried and Arya refused to understand.

"Fine. I will. Can we just stop arguing about this now, please?" Arya asked.

"Yes, fine. This is stressing me out and it's not good for the baby," she said.

"Talking of that, what's it like doing… it… while you're pregnant?" Arya wondered aloud.

"I don't know…" Sansa admitted quietly. "We haven't done it since before I found out. I don't think Sandor wants to or something. Neither of us has really brought it up."

"Well… do you want to?"

"Yeah. Nothing has changed with me, really. I still want him a lot."

"Why don't you ask him, then?"

"I don't know. What if he doesn't think I'm attractive like this?"

"That's silly. Of course he does. He was obviously attracted to you before, and now the only difference is that you've got his baby inside of you. He probably just thinks you don't want to because you're pregnant," Arya told her.

Sansa shrugged, but thought on it later once Arya had gone to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Saturday was the second of March, the final day of Sansa's second trimester, and the first rugby match of the season; it was also very cold. Sandor drove her to the rugby match and let her borrow one of his blankets for sitting in the stands with. She was sandwiched between Myranda Royce, called Randa, and Mya Stone. They were both in the year above her and came to football games mostly to comment on the players' bodies. On the bright side, though, they were nice and they'd never had anything bad to say about Sansa or her teen pregnancy, so she sat with them when Jeyne wasn't around. Randa's words usually made her blush pretty brightly, but Mya tended to make her feel better, so it was alright.

While the boys were warming up, Randa and Mya talked about all the boys on the team, careful to avoid mentioning Sandor – Randa may not have cared usually, but she wasn't about to mention anything about Sansa's boyfriend in front of her.

"What's it like being with Sandor?" Randa finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Sansa inquired. The two other girls looked at each other.

"How does he treat you?" Mya asked. "What is he like when it's just the two of you?"

"Oh. He's really good to me. Like he's still sort of grumpy and rough with his manners, but he really does try to be the best for me. It's kind of hard to explain if you only know him like he is with everyone else. It's just that he doesn't really care about most other people or what they think, really, so he'll just say whatever he thinks, but with me, it's clear he's trying to be as kind as he can manage," she explained.

"Aw, you bring out the best in him," Randa told her. "Everyone knows and can see it."

Sansa blushed. She was happy that it was so obvious to everyone that she and Sandor were really right for each other.

When the game had finished – they won – Sansa went back with Sandor to his house to spend the rest of the afternoon before having to go home for family dinner. Apparently Arya was bringing Jaqen and she was eager to meet him finally. Once they'd gotten in and removed their warm outerwear, Sandor pulled her into his arms and just held her for a while. There was a bruise darkening and rising on his unscarred cheekbone just under his left eye and his lip was a little bloodied, but that aside, he was well. Sansa let him hold her for a while, relaxing in his arms, before she nudged him back to his room.

Inside, she shoved him down on his bed and straddled his hips. She pushed his shirt up and he grinned up at her before pulling it off and moving his hands to the hem of hers. He looked questioningly up at her to see if it was okay for him to remove it and she gave him a nod. He ran his hands over her belly then up her body to her breasts, moving over them before he reached around and unhooked her bra, pulling it down and off of her body.

"I've missed this so much," he told her softly.

"Really? So have I. I thought you didn't want to sleep with me anymore because I'm fat now," she confessed.

"What? No, of course not," he assured her. "And you're not fat. You're pregnant with my son."

Sansa smiled and leaned into him as best she could. He met her half way and she pressed her lips to his before running her tongue over the cut on his lower lip. The coppery tang of blood burst brightly against her tongue and she pushed her nails into his skin, holding close to him as his own hands skimmed over the hot flesh of her back and sides. His tongue was hot and a little rough against her own which only turned her on even more as he pressed it into her mouth.

Sandor gently rolled her onto her back next to him and undid her jeans with one hand, holding himself over her with the other. She quickly undid his as well and pushed them down his hips. She shimmied out of her own jeans and underwear before she lay back on the bed to wait for him to rejoin her once he was fully naked.

It took some awkward fumbling for a few minutes before they finally found a position that was comfortable enough for the both of them. Sansa sat straddling his hips and impaled on his cock, facing away from him. She'd have preferred to face the other way around, but it was uncomfortable to bend over him so that they could kiss, so she faced away instead and bit her lip as he reached around to touch her.

It didn't take much time at all either of them to finish as it had been months since either of them had had sex. Sansa came first, moaning his name and pulled his orgasm easily out of him along the way as her inner muscles contracted around him.

Sansa stayed still on top of him as she came down from her orgasm. Sandor's fingers held her tightly to him still as he panted beneath her. Instead of releasing her once he'd regained his breath, he sat up at the head of his bed with his legs stretched out in front of him and pulled her back tightly to his chest, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I've been wanting to do this again for such a long time," he breathed against her neck. "You don't even know how hard it's been trying to stop myself from just grabbing you and taking you."

Sansa grinned into the empty room in front of her and thrust her hips back against him. Sandor bit his lip and groaned. His heated breath against her skin sent shivers up her spine and she could feel him getting harder inside of her. She kept moving her hips against him, back and forth. Feeling started to build up between her hip bones. She grabbed Sandor's hand and placed it against herself when she felt him start to shake against her.

"You close?" she asked.

"Mmhmm."

"Want me to come with you?" she whispered and felt him nod against her shoulder. He rubbed his fingers quicker against her as he pushed his hips up into hers, clinging hard to her with his other hand.

Her orgasm came up fast and she whined a little and his whispered name slipped past her lips. Sandor's moaning against her skin only made her come harder and she shook against him as he tensed behind her, letting his release overtake him.

Sansa felt a little dirty as she walked into her home just in time to sit down at the dinner table. She smelled like sex under the body-spray she had borrowed from Sandor and she could feel his still drying cum against her inner thighs. When she sat at the table though, no one seemed to notice anything amiss with her… no one but Jaqen, anyway.

He was sitting across from her, next to Arya at the table and there was a slight smirk on his face. His bright and clear blue eyes made her feel like he was seeing through her skin and into her heart. He was very handsome, close up – Arya hadn't lied. His hair was strange, though. It was long and dark red and the shocking chunk of white running through it was even stranger in person. She wondered what had caused the distinctive marking. His face was clear of any trace of a beard, but he looked at least twenty-two, not nineteen, or the fifteen years Arya had told their parents he was. Sansa shifted uncomfortably, she was unused to having sex and the large girth of Sandor's cock hadn't made the aftermath of their coupling any easier. She figured she'd get used to it again soon enough, though.

"So Jaqen, where is it that you're from?" her mother asked eventually after everyone's food had made it to their plates.

"Germany, in Dresden," he answered and Sansa could finally hear his accent. He was cute and had a nice voice, no wonder Arya liked him so much. She still thought he was much too old, though.

Sansa watched him through narrowed eyes throughout the entire dinner. She probably looked crazy, but he said nothing – just raised his brow in question at her a few times when he'd catch her staring. It wasn't until after dinner that she got the answers she wanted out of him.

"You're much too old for my sister," Sansa told him, having cornered him in the upstairs hallway as he was on his way back from the bathroom.

"To old for what with your sister?" he asked curiously. "I did not know there was an age limit on friends in this country. What is it you think I want?"

Sansa faltered, "But… you're dating her, you – "

"Dating?" Jaqen interrupted. "I am not dating. If I take your sister to see new things because I care, is that dating? Do you date your brother when he takes you out? Or your girl friends?"

"How exactly is it that you feel about her, then?"

Jaqen looked at her like she was insane. "Like a good friend should," he answered simply. "Your sister is lovely – she is funny and clever and I like listening to her brain – what she is thinking. How else is there to like a girl of her age without being a deviant?"

Sansa bit her lip and looked away.

"Ah. Of course I see what you were thinking now," he told her. "You think that since I am so much older and enjoy spending time with your sister that I want to do sexual things with her."

"Well what else would I think? She said that… you're attracted to each other."

Jaqen frowned at that and shook his head. "It is perhaps your sister that has romantic feeling for me," he shrugged. "I do not return it. To me, I feel about her as you do. You would not be talking with me about this if you did not care for her – I care for her in the same way you do."

"Like a sister?" she asked.

"Precisely," he answered with a nod. "I would never do things to hurt Arya. I did not have a sister until her. Is this fine now? You understand?"

"Maybe – do you promise to never try anything with her?"

"I can not say if I will feel this way always. Your sister and I will both be adults one day and I can not say what will happen then. I will promise that I only want friendship from your sister until a day when she is no longer so young – and perhaps even past that day. A man cannot help his feeling, but I assure you, loving children is not in my feelings."

That night, she went to Arya's room and sat on her bed.

"You were right before, when you told me he wasn't like I thought," she admitted. It was slightly difficult to admit that she had been wrong, but she knew it would strengthen their relationship and although they'd had years of arguing and not getting along very well due to their differences, they needed each other. "He seems like he's a good guy."

"Thanks Sansa," Arya grinned at her older sister. "Have you talked to Sandor about your uh… issue yet?"

"Oh, that," she felt her face heat up with a hot blush. "Yes, that's all settled."

Arya wrinkled her nose in slight disgust, but she could tell she didn't mean it in a cruel way. But really… who wanted to think about their siblings having sex?

"To answer your earlier question, though, it wasn't much different than usual. It was kind of awkward at first because we had to figure out how to fit together around this thing," Sansa rubbed her belly. "But after that, it was okay. It kind of hurts now, though. I think that's just because of how long it's been since the last time and because he's um… big." She trailed off quietly.

"Ew! Sansa! I did not need or want to know that!" Arya really was grossed out this time and Sansa shrugged.

"I'm sorry! You did ask, though," she said. "If you're grossed out about my sex life, don't ask questions about it!"

"Whatever. I'll be more careful with my phrasing next time," Arya told her. "So you liked Jaqen, then?"

"I do," she told her. "What does he do? He's not in school, is he?"

"No, he's an actor," Arya answered. "He's pretty well known in Germany, but no one here has ever heard of him. It's cool, he's shown me some of his work and he's really versatile. You'd never know most of it was him; it's like watching a different person entirely. I could show you sometime if you'd like."

"I would like that," Sansa said. She was glad that they were getting along so well lately and watching some of Jaqen's acting work would give them another chance to bond. If she thought Arya would be at all interested in watching tapes of Sandor playing football, she'd have shown them to her weeks ago. There was something else the younger girl might enjoy though. "Would you maybe like to come to one of Sandor's rugby matches with me sometime? They're pretty violent and fun to watch."

"I'd love to. I've always thought rugby looked like fun."

Sansa went to bed a little while later. She tossed and turned in bed but found it difficult to sleep. Her back was hurting and her belly made almost every position uncomfortable. She felt a little bit about ripping her hair out but instead tried to breathe calmly and thought instead the seaside. The imagination of waves crashing in her head had her drifting off to sleep not long after.

* * *

and you guys thought jaqen was going to be a creeep! but no, no. i wouldn't write it like that. i was thinking more from the direction of when i was really young and had awkward crushes on older guys and they'd be really nice to me and it would turn out they were only being friendly. ;) i'm not the only one... am i?


	14. Chapter 14

"I don't know if I can… Sandor would be really angry and I don't think my doctor would allow me to," Sansa said, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Please Sansa? You can have Loras' ticket, it won't matter at all, I'll pay to get it transferred and everything. Please don't leave me alone with my relatives. I'd take Marg, but she's already going since Joffrey is," Renly begged. Sansa paled when she heard that Joffrey would be there, more of a reason for her to just stay home.

Renly Baratheon was attempting to convince her to be a stand-in for Loras on their spring break trip down to some island in the Caribbean. Loras had gotten ill with mono at the last moment and was unable to go with Renly as he had been planning to and Renly would rather die than be stuck alone with his drunk (but wealthy) older brother Robert and his weird in-laws; the Lannisters. He'd as soon stay home than be without Loras, but since their parents had died in a freak yachting accident years before, Robert had assumed legal guardianship of Renly and as he was still a few weeks away from turning eighteen, he had to do what Robert said and Robert was insisting that he go on the family vacation.

Despite being popular and well known, Renly had surprisingly few close friends that he'd actually want to take with him down to the Caribbean for a week and a half. Said friends being Loras, Margaery, and Sansa herself. As Loras was sick and Margaery was going anyway to be with Joffrey, Renly had set himself to convincing Sansa to go with him. He'd already asked her parents and they were fine with it, and although Sansa really did want to go on a nice vacation with Renly to just relax and escape the wintery weather, she didn't really want to abandon Sandor like that. She knew that even though Renly was gay – which Sandor knew – he would still not like the idea of his pregnant girlfriend being with Renly and his family for most of spring break, leaving him alone in the snow.

"I don't know Renly… I'd really like to, but I think I should talk to Sandor and my doctor first. I have an appointment tomorrow and if my doctor says yes, I'll let you know and I'll hopefully be able to convince Sandor that it's perfectly safe and a fine idea for me to go with you. You should probably try extra hard to convince him that you're gay, though," she told him. "I really do want to go with you Renly, and I'm really pleased that you've asked me. It means a lot."

Renly sighed. "Alright, I guess that's good enough for now, but let me know! We leave in two days, you know."

"I will, I will!" Sansa reassured him.

The next afternoon, she arrived back at school from her doctor's appointment just in time to speak to Renly at lunch. It was the last day before spring break – a Friday – and a third of the school seemed to be skipping. She easily found Renly sitting in the dining hall surrounded by people who were hanging on his every word. He saw her as she walked up and he broke off whatever story he was telling and excused himself, grabbing her arm and guiding her to the side of the hall where they wouldn't be overheard.

"Well? What did the doctor say?" he asked excitedly.

"He said that it's fine for me to fly up until I'm 34 weeks," she told him, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Okay… and how far along are you now?" he inquired eagerly. "Can you go or not?"

"Calm down Renly! I'm twenty-eight weeks tomorrow. I can go as long as I can get Sandor to agree with everything," she told him and he made a noise of disgust.

"Ugh, why does he have to agree? It's all fine and safe and you'll be back in a week and a half, just come on!" Sansa could tell he was stressed and worried about this – probably about Loras as well – he only ever whined like this when he was stressed and it was getting on her hormonal nerves.

"I know you clear almost everything you do with Loras first, don't you? Just let me make everything okay with Sandor first. I'll make him say yes, okay?"

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry I'm being so whiny. I'm just so stressed out over this. Please don't leave me alone with the weirdo Lannisters."

"I won't, don't worry."

Since it was the beginning of spring break, Sandor had two weeks off from rugby, so instead of having practice after school, he picked Sansa up and brought her back to his house. He happily carried her across his lawn and through the door of his house. She could tell he was excited and in a really good mood because of spring break and it was going to be hard telling him she'd be gone for most of it with another boy, but she knew she should tell him sooner rather than later.

"I need to talk to you about this next week and a half," Sansa began as soon as he'd set her on her feet in the front room of his house.

"What of it?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm uh… I'm going to the Caribbean with the Baratheons and the Lannisters for it. Margaery is going too, of course," she quickly told him. His frown was immediate and he stepped away from her.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, Loras was going to go, but he's got mono now, so he can't and there's an extra ticket and Renly doesn't want to be stuck alone with his weirdo family in the Caribbean… so he's asked me to go with him and I've said I will," she explained.

"You're going with Renly?"

"Yes. Everything will be fine. My parents are on board for it since Robert Baratheon has been best friends with my father since they were younger than I am. I asked Dr. Pylos if it was okay today and he said it was all fine since I'm getting back on track with my weight now and it'll be nearly six weeks before it's unsafe for me to fly. I just wanted to make sure it was all okay with you," she told him.

"I thought we'd spend the two weeks together…" he said, letting his disappointment overpower the anger in his voice.

"I know… I want to… but I can't do that to Renly. You know what he's like… and you certainly know at least a bit of what his family is like. And I mean… it's the Caribbean. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't want to go anyway," she said.

"And what if something happens and you go into labor down there?" he asked.

"I doubt that will happen. It's supposed to be a relaxing beach vacation. Anyway, if I do, Renly and Margaery will be with me and I doubt Robert will let anything happen to me because of his relationship with my dad. If anything does happen, though, I'll have the baby there and bring him back up here. No big deal," she told him.

Sandor frowned deeply at her. "I want to be with you when it happens. Just because we're not keeping him doesn't mean I'll stand for missing the birth of my son."

He was in a huff for the rest of the evening, but he finally calmed down about it just before she left to go home. She was pleased that he seemed to feel so strongly about her and being with her when their son was born, but she wished he'd stop worrying. It was a great relief to her as she'd needed to go pack and sleep early so that she'd be awake when Renly came to get her for the airport. She shot him a quick text letting him know she'd be going after packing her bikinis and before setting in on the rest of her clothes.

Sansa managed to pack all of her things in a relatively short time and then went down for dinner with her family. Her father seemed pleased that she was spending the break with Renly Baratheon instead of Sandor or Joffrey. She made it very clear to him, though, that despite her spending time with Renly, they were only friends and Sandor was her boyfriend.

"At least they don't have to worry about you getting pregnant," Theon laughed and Sansa narrowed her eyes at him.

"As if they would have to anyway with her being around Renly Baratheon," Robb snorted.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Catelyn asked.

"Everyone knows Renly is gay," Theon announced. Catelyn raised a brow at him.

"It's true," Sansa told everyone. "He's dating Loras Tyrell. They have been forever."

"Mace Tyrell stands for having a gay son?" Eddard asked. "He doesn't seem like the type to be lenient about that."

"He has three sons – all he cares about is that Loras plays football well and gets into good schools for it," Robb said. "I doubt he cares what the boy does in his down time."

After that, the topic of Renly and Loras' sexualities was closed and they moved on to everyone else's plans for the break. Bran and Rickon would of course be staying home, Arya was going camping with Jaqen and a group of their mutual friends down in Georgia, and Robb and Theon were going out to the Rockies to go snowboarding for the break.

When they had all finished eating, they sat and spoke for a while longer before Sansa was the first to excuse herself as she needed to go to bed quickly and wake up earlier than anyone else. She wished Sandor could come too, but he didn't have the money to pay for himself and it was too last minute to get him a ticket anyway – and on top of that, he hated everyone but Sansa who was going to be on the trip. It wouldn't do to have Sandor sulking around when everyone else was trying to enjoy their holiday. She drifted off to sleep thinking of warm Caribbean beaches.

In the morning, she was awoken at 6am by her phone ringing. It was Renly.

"Are you up? Are you ready? Are you excited?" he asked cheerfully, sounding far too awake for the time it was. Sansa yawned.

"I'm awake. I just have to get dressed, but all of my things are packed and I've got my travel documents in order and everything."

"Great! I'll be over in fifteen minutes. I have to bring you back to ours before we all set out together," he told her before hanging up.

Sansa went to the bathroom and got ready quickly – using the toilet and scrubbing her face – before going back to her room and getting dressed. It was still cold in Illinois, as it was only March, but she knew it would be warm and wet in the Caribbean, so she'd have to do some work with layering. She got dressed as quickly as she could and brought her carry on bag downstairs with her to have breakfast. Mid-way through eating her cereal, Renly turned up at the door.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Nearly, I just need to finish breakfast. Could you bring my bag down for me please? I'm not supposed to lift anything heavy," she told him.

"Yeah, of course. Which room is it?"

She told him and quickly finished her food while he was upstairs getting her things for her. She was finished by the time he got back down with her bag and she shoved a few snacks into her carry on before following him out the door. Renly loaded her bag into his car and turned to her.

"All set?" he asked.

"One more thing, I just want to say goodbye to Sandor, okay?" Sansa asked. "He lives just there." She nodded at his house.

"Sure thing," Renly told her. "I'll warm the car up."

Sansa walked down the block to Sandor's house. She knew he wouldn't be up yet, so she used her key to his door. He was predictably asleep in bed when she crept into his room so she slid into his bed under the covers with him and kissed him awake.

"Hey," she said softly when his eyes blinked open.

"Hey… I thought you'd be gone by now," he said.

"Renly is waiting outside. I told him I just needed to see you first and say bye. I'll be back on the 20th, though."

"Mmm… what day is that?" he asked, brushing a hand across his face to wake himself up.

"It's the Wednesday after next," she told him, and peppered kisses across his nose and cheeks. "I'll miss you. I won't have my phone on until I get back, but you can try emailing me and I'll hopefully be able to check it while I'm there."

"I'll miss you, too. At least we'll be able to spend the last four days of break together though, right?" he asked and she nodded to confirm it. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love you. You should get going."

"Probably. I love you too. Have a relaxing week and a half. I'll call you somehow if there's an emergency or something. I don't anticipate anything going wrong, though."

"Good," he said softly. "Now get out of here and let me sleep. I'll see you later."

He gently pushed her out of bed and she gave him a last wave before closing the door and making her way back outside. When she closed the door behind her, she found Renly had parked outside. She hopped into the passenger seat and Renly grinned at her.

"Ready to meet my psycho relatives?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Sansa told him.


	15. Chapter 15

The drive to the Baratheon's mansion wasn't long and it was a drive Sansa had done on several occasions when she had been dating Joffrey. She was, of course, nervous about being stuck on an island with him for a week and a half, but she knew that Renly would protect her and Margaery would be there to distract Joffrey. Once they got there, a limousine waited out front in the large circular drive.

They parked in the garage and Renly got her bag out of the back of his car and then assisted her out as well, letting her cling to his arm for support. Though he could have let go after that, he continued to hold his arm for her like a gentleman to cling to as he led her inside through the garage entrance. It felt strange to be clinging to a boy who wasn't Sandor, but it had more to do with the fact that Joffrey would of course be around than any feelings she had for Renly.

"Left your mutt for a preening peacock have you?" came Joffrey's smarmy voice from somewhere overhead. _Great. _Sansa looked up and saw Joffrey sneering from above them where he was leaning on a bannister. "You've certainly porked up."

"Shut the fuck up, you little shit, before I make you. And we both know you won't like it if I do that." Another voice spoke and Sansa looked down from where Joffrey was to the man who had just walked into the hall.

The first thing Sansa noticed about him was that he had achondroplasia. The second was his dark golden hair and green eyes, which identified him as a Lannister of some sort. She'd never heard about him, though. She was certain if there was a dwarf Lannister, she'd have heard about him before then.

Joffrey grumbled something and slunk off to go finish packing or whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.

"I'm Tyrion," he said, extending his hand to her when he reached where she stood clinging to Renly. "Joffrey's uncle."

Sansa reached out and shook the hand he had offered to her.

"On his mother's side?" wondered.

"Tyrion Lannister, yes," he said with a nod. "There's no way you're dating Renly."

"No, she's just a friend," Renly finally spoke up. "She used to date Joffrey, but he's obviously no good to her."

"I'd have heard if that was his baby, wouldn't I have?" he asked, nodding to her belly.

"I cheated on him with someone else," Sansa told him sheepishly.

"She's Sandor Clegane's girlfriend," Renly told Tyrion and his eyebrows raised as he looked at her.

"Ah. No wonder Joffrey is so sore about it all," he said. "I went to school with his brother – nasty piece of work, that one. His little brother is a good kid; awful tragedy for a face, though." Sansa frowned at that, Tyrion glanced up, noticing.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I meant no offence. I'm in no position to genuinely criticize the physical features of others."

"Tyrion is in his first year at Harvard Law," Renly interjected in an effort to break the tension.

"Impressive," Sansa told him.

"If only my father felt the same," he murmured under his breath. "Is it rude of me to ask when you're due?"

"The first of June," Sansa answered.

"Congratulations. I'm sure you'll be a great mother," Tyrion said with a slight grin.

"Oh, he's being adopted by my oldest brother as soon as he's born. I'll just be his aunt," she clarified.

"Ah. Smart decision," he said. "Well, if my nephew gives you any more trouble, just let me know and I'll do what I can to set him straight."

"Thank you," Sansa called as he walked away, once again leaving her alone with Renly.

"He and Joffrey's mother do not get along in the slightest," Renly told her with a conspiratorial grin. "Should provide some interesting conversations this next few days."

"Oh, I hope they don't fight too much, it always stresses me out."

"It's not really fighting, really. It's mostly snide comments over the dinner table. It gets really snarky sometimes, but that's usually about it."

Renly brought her into the sitting room where the rest of the Baratheon and Lannister families were waiting. Robert and Cersei were there and Sansa had met them before, of course, but there was another blonde man who looked so like Cersei that he could only be her other brother. When they walked in, the conversation stopped and all eyes seemed to gravitate to them. Renly cleared his throat but Robert spoke before he could get the chance to.

"Sansa! Welcome," he greeted her. "How is your father?"

"He's well sir," she said softly.

"Excellent to hear," he told her, then gestured to his wife. "You've met my wife Cersei, of course, and this is her brother Jaime."

He was terribly handsome and his smile was beautiful. He had to be around the same age as Cersei. He was grinning brightly at her and stood to shake her hand.

"Lovely to meet you," Sansa told him shyly.

"Yes, wonderful," he said, then retreated back to where he'd been sitting with his sister.

"Little Dove, are you alright to travel like that?" Cersei inquired, nodding to her belly.

"Oh, yes. I saw my doctor yesterday and he said I was fine to travel up until week thirty-four… or was it thirty-six? Either way, I'm only just at twenty-eight weeks today," she told them.

"Well, we'll have to take good care of you to make sure nothing happens, then," Cersei told her. "No swimming with sharks or running on the beach for you."

"Thank you ma'am. My boyfriend will be glad you're taking an interest in my well being," she told them. "He was worried about me going away."

"Well, there's nothing to worry about, and if anything happens, you'll be in the best of hands," Robert told her.

Not long after, they left in the limo. Sansa found herself sandwiched between Renly and Tyrion for the ride to the airport. They got there soon enough and piled out of the car. Rather than actually taking care of their own luggage, the chauffer did it for them, and although Sansa felt strangely about it, she was in no position to assist.

"Someone get her a wheelchair," Tyrion ordered.

"No, I'm fine," Sansa insisted. "I enjoy walking until I no longer can."

"I've seen your boyfriend and if anything happens to you, none of us want to say we didn't do everything we could for you. You'll have a wheelchair. Just until we get to the plane," he told her.

Renly quickly appeared at her side with a wheelchair before she'd even noticed he'd left. "Come on Sansa. I'll do wheelies with you if you like," he told her and she finally acquiesced and sat down in the chair, pulling her carry on bag onto her knees and letting Renly push her through the airport ahead of everyone up to the check in counters. The check in took no time at all and then they were through to go to security.

Security was empty so it took about two minutes to get through and then Renly was pushing her along the halls of the airport and into some lounge to wait for the others. It was mostly empty and Renly helped her onto one of the couches where she stretched out while he went to get her some juice. When he returned, he sat next to her, sipping his own coffee.

"I'm sorry Loras couldn't come," Sansa told him.

"Me too. But it's okay, I like spending time with you as well," he said, but she knew it wasn't the same. Just as spending her break with Renly wouldn't be like spending it with Sandor – and it wasn't just the sex, either. "You're sure Sandor is okay with you coming?"

"He'll miss me, but he wasn't angry. I think it's a good opportunity for us to get used to what it's going to be like next year when he's away at college," she explained.

"Oh? Where is he going?" Renly asked.

"Michigan, I think is his top choice right now."

"That's not too far. I'm going to Columbia next year."

They talked about college for a while longer, until the rest of the Baratheons and Lannisters entered the lounge. Once they were all together and ready, they left again and went out to another limo that was driven out to the private jet owned by Tywin Lannister, Cersei's father. Apparently Robert had his own, but it only sat six.

Sansa was in awe of their combined wealth. Her own father was very wealthy himself, but she supposed he had twice as many children to support and wasn't the ostentatious type that the Baratheons and Lannisters seemed to be, so it was no wonder they didn't lead the same sort of lives.

Tywin's jet was luxurious and very comfortable. Sansa was sat next to Renly in a seat that would fully recline, should she want it to. She was still tired from having woken up so early and as such; she curled into a blanket and fell asleep almost straight away.

It was bright in the plane when she woke up. Next to her, Renly was reading a book. Sansa sat her seat up and cleared her throat causing Renly to glance up and then close his book and direct his attention to her.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, glancing about.

"A few hours," he told her. "About four, I think. We're two hours away from landing, now. If you look out the window, there's quite the view."

Sansa did and her breath was taken away. She'd never been to the Caribbean before, only having seen it in films and on television. Even from the air it looked like paradise. She could see white sandy islands in clear blue water that seemed to blend into the sky. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen with her own eyes up to that point, beating even a powder dusting of snow over a frozen icicle world.

"Wow, it's beautiful," she whispered and turned back to see Renly's wide grin. She spoke with both he and Tyrion for the rest of the two-hour flight, happy to ignore the rest of the plane's passengers.

The time seemed to breeze by and suddenly they were landing amongst palm trees. Customs was an officer coming up to their plane, checking their passports, and then leaving them to go on their way. Sansa decided that one-day, she too would have her own private jet.

Upon their arrival in Granada, they were loaded into another limousine and driven the hour or so up the coast to the resort. It was right on the ocean with a spectacular view and Sansa was rendered speechless. The resort itself was a magnificent second and as soon as they had arrived and checked in, Renly took her to their room.

As she found out when she walked in, it was wrong to call it a room. It was more like an apartment. There was only one bed and it had clearly been meant as a romantic getaway for he and Loras, but the fact that Renly had invited her along to stay with him here anyway tickled her pink inside.

"Oh Renly, it's amazing!" she called to him, tottering through the high wall that encompassed the suite. It had its own garden with a hammock and eating area that looked onto a private pool. There was a living area and a bathroom with a whirlpool Jacuzzi for a bathtub and the bedroom looked out onto the pool and garden. Apparently Margaery and Joffrey had its twin suite across the walkway that paved the few feet between them and the beach.

The teenagers were left alone to explore the resort and relax on the beach the rest of the day and in the evening; everyone was called to dine at the resort's seaside restaurant. Sansa was glad she'd packed at least one dress to wear as dress code for the restaurant dictated she wear it. The food was Caribbean themed and delicious, of course and after dinner, Renly took her on a starlit walk along the beach.

"I really am glad that you decided to come with me," he told her softly.

"You know what?" she asked. "So am I."

When they got back, Renly let her use his laptop to check her emails – she had one from Sandor making sure she'd arrived safely – and then had a shower before bed. She was towel drying her hair as she walked out of the bathroom and into the sitting room where Renly was talking to his computer. She gave him a funny look for a moment before realizing that he was probably talking to Loras on Skype. He finished up the call not long after.

"Um…" he began uncertainly with a glance toward the bedroom. "Would it be alright if we shared the bed? I mean, it is a king, and I am gay, so it's not like we'd even touch each other and of course I wouldn't try anything and – "

Sansa interrupted, "Of course we can share the bed! I think it's the kind of thing we should leave out on a trip re-cap to Sandor, but I don't see the harm in it. I miss my boyfriend and so do you – we can cuddle."

"Thanks Sansa," he said, grinning widely at her. "Now rest up, we have a long morning of relaxing on the beach tomorrow followed by the ever strenuous automobile tour of the island."

"Is everyone going?" Sansa asked, biting her lip. The limo rides to and from airports had been one thing, but she really didn't want to spend hours stuck in a car with Joffrey on her spring break vacation.

"Nope, just us. I did have an itinerary set up for Loras and I, but I've edited it slightly to only contain things you can do in your condition," he told her.

"Wow, thank you so much Renly. This is all amazing."

They went to sleep on opposite sides of the bed and after shuffling around to get comfortable, Sansa drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was still dark out and she found herself curled up against Renly with his arms around her. She listened to his breathing and found it to be quicker than she'd have expected. She glanced up at him and found him looking back down at her. He chuckled and pulled away from her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't want to wake you up by moving away. I only woke up a few minutes before you did."

"What woke you up?" Sansa asked.

"Hunger," he said. "And I miss Loras, I guess. He says he's feeling a little better, which is good, but I still feel a bit bad that he's got mono and I'm having a time in the Caribbean with someone else."

"I know how you feel on both counts," Sansa told him. "But we can only really fix one of those. The other we'll have to get over. What are you hungry for?"

"I'm not sure, but I fancy a bit of a walk, do you want to come with me to the concierge desk to see if we can get some food right now?"

"Yeah, let me just put some shoes on."

Sansa slid her feet into a pair of shoes and then followed Renly out of their suite, down the paved walkway, and into the main resort building. A bored looking twenty-something girl sat at the concierge desk twirling a pen around. She looked up and smiled at Renly when they got to the counter.

"Good evening, how may I help you?" she asked.

"We're really hungry and we were wondering if there was any way we could get some food at this time of night?" Renly inquired. Sansa looked at the clock hanging behind the desk on the wall. It was a quarter past three in the morning.

"Of course!" she said. "The in-house restaurant actually stays open all night for take-out orders. It's down the hall over there and on your left."

"Thankyou!" Renly called with a smile as they walked away to where she had indicated. When they got to the restaurant, Renly ordered chicken fingers with barbecue sauce and one of everything on the dessert menu to share with Sansa. Sansa ordered a salad so that she could feel healthy before helping Renly eat all of the desserts. Despite being within the proper weight range for her development level now, she was still on the low side of it so pretty much everything was a help.

Once they had gotten their food and returned to their suite, Renly sat everything out on top of the bed and turned on the television. They watched bad made-for-tv movies for a while before finally being full and sleepy and passing out in the bed again.

* * *

due to the fact that i find it completely and utterly boring as well as so vastly overdone - there aren't any more ~joffrey is horrible to sansa~ scenes in this story. they are in highschool, they live nowhere near each other, she has friends and a big scary boyfriend, adults who will act rationally because joffrey is not actually the king of illinois are around.

as such, y'all can stop worrying about it :) but thank you for your concern that sansa would actually have to see anyone but renly aside from at dinnertime on her holidays. (she won't!)


	16. Chapter 16

After twelve days of fun and sun, Sansa couldn't help but say that she was pleased to be back home. Renly had dropped her off at her house in the evening after they'd arrived back in the wintery Chicago suburbs and she'd dropped her things of in her room and without even unpacking, went straight over to see Sandor.

"You've gotten bigger."

It was the first thing out of his mouth when he opened the door and Sansa smiled and threw herself into his arms. He caught her and held her tightly before dragging her inside with him.

"How are you? Was everything okay the whole time?" he asked once they were seated comfortably on the couch in the front room.

"Everything is fine, I'd have told you otherwise," she said, smiling at how worried he seemed. "I had a great time. I'll show you the pictures on facebook later if you'd like."

"Right now all I want is you," he told her, pulling her along into the bedroom with him.

Sansa spent the last four days of her break with Sandor and on Monday, it was back to school and business as usual. She got complimented on the miraculous tan she'd managed to cultivate by spending every morning lazing about on the beach with Renly. She was sad to see that Loras still wasn't back at school even after being mostly bedridden for the entire break and hoped that he would be better soon. As such, she wrote him a small card and gave it to Renly in the hall between History and Science so that he could give it to Loras when he saw him after school.

For the next six weeks, Sansa felt incredibly scatterbrained. They were Sandor's last six weeks of high school before graduation and Sansa's last six weeks of school before Dr. Pylos told her she could have the rest of the semester off for medical maternity leave. But when it had come down to it, Sansa didn't feel so terrible going to school and it would be easier to just finish as much of the year as she could instead of sitting at home for the rest of it. So, Sansa bid farewell to all her senior friends and continued going to school despite that every week at her now weekly OB appointments with Dr. Pylos, he told her that her child could be born anytime.

Every week he told her that, and every week Sansa grew larger and more frustrated. By the time she was at week thirty-nine, she only had a few more days of school and she felt like she was the size of a whale. In years past, the stretch between spring break and the end of school had always seemed to fly by, but this year, Sansa's pregnancy frustrations seemed to be making time crawl by at a snail's pace.

Sandor was on edge the whole week. As soon as school was out, he would be there to pick her up and take her home where he would stay until her parents asked him to leave at around nine o'clock every night. After a few days of this, it was starting to drive her crazy so Sansa did the only thing she could think to do and called up Dany.

"Dany? I really need your help," she told the other girl as soon as the phone had been answered.

"What is it? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" her friend's panicked voice came through the receiver and immediately started to have a calming effect on Sansa herself.

"No, no, nothing like that," she reassured. "It's Sandor. He's driving me insane Dany. I'm due on Saturday and he cannot bring himself to leave me alone! I'm not dilated, I'm not effaced, and he's not even engaged or anything. There have been no signs of delivery being at all soon and yet as soon as I'm off school, he's straight away attached to me until my parents make him go home at night. What am I supposed to do about this?"

"Well… does he know it's a gradual process with obvious signs that you're being checked for each week?" Dany asked calmly.

"Well… I'm not sure. I mean, I should think he would know all of that, but he might not. We've not talked about that bit, really. I've just told him to calm down and that it wouldn't start happening without me knowing first," Sansa replied.

"You should probably have that conversation with him, then," Dany said. "Aside from that, I really don't know what else to tell you other than to wish you luck."

The next day after school, Sandor came to pick her up and bring her home and as soon as they were alone in her room, she pulled her feet onto the bed and crossed her legs in front of her before setting her eyes on him. He looked at her strangely before asking, "What?"

"We seriously need to have a talk," she told him. "I know you mean well and you're just worried about me, but honestly Sandor, you're driving me crazy. You're stressing yourself out, too, and that can't be good for you. The thing is, though, there are signs that come before a baby is born. It isn't just going to pop out with no warning. If I feel off or like it's about to happen or is happening, I'll tell you straight away and there will be time for everything. Okay?"

Sandor sighed and looked away from her.

"I know I've been a bit on-edge lately about all this. I'm just… nervous, I guess," he grumbled.

"You don't need to be, though! Everything will be just fine, really. He'll be born when he's ready and until then, we just need to wait. You really need to relax and have some time for yourself where you're not stressing about this, though. It's unhealthy."

Following their conversation, Sandor did calm down. He seemed to have accepted that all they needed to do was wait. And so they did.

They just… waited.

And waited.

Sansa's due date came and went with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Dr. Pylos told her to give it a few more days before coming in to see him, just to see. Nothing would be done until she was at least a week overdue. It was getting to be hot, though, and Sansa really didn't want to have to be pregnant for any longer anymore so she hoped the child would come soon.

The week that followed her due-date was finals week and she was pleased to be able to actually sit her finals instead of having to take them at home since she was supposed to have just given birth to a baby. It was hard to concentrate while so stressed, but Sansa tried to manage it as best she could. In the end, she thought she did rather well on her finals, especially given the circumstances.

"Miss Stark?" a voice called as she was just exiting the room. It was Ms. Mordane, her English teacher. She had just completed her last final and was the last student to leave the room, when the teacher had called her back.

"Yes Ms. Mordane?"

"I don't mean to pry, but I was rather under the impression that you were going to take the last few weeks off of school and be unable to sit your finals."

"That was the plan originally, but I didn't show any signs of labor, so I was allowed to continue attending until I did… and I still haven't."

"When are you due?"

"Well… five days ago, actually," Sansa answered sheepishly. "I don't think he wants to come out, though. He must be awfully big by now…"

"He certainly must be," Ms. Mordane agreed, glancing down at Sansa's distended belly. "Well, have a good summer and good luck Sansa."

"Thank you ma'am," Sansa called back as she walked out of the room and off to find Sandor. She knew he'd be waiting for her in the pickup drive out front. When she got outside, sure enough, he was there with his truck, waiting for her. Sansa hopped in and tossed her books onto the floor near her feet.

"Won't be needing those again!" she said happily. She would need a whole new set of books for the next year, but it was something she didn't want to think about.

"Are you glad this year is over?" Sandor asked, pulling onto the street and heading for home.

"You have no idea. I wish this silly baby would come out, too," she said. "I think he's getting cramped in there… he's stopped moving around so much the past little while."

"He's stopped moving?" Sandor asked and she could hear the edge of nervousness in his voice.

"No, not all together. Just… he moves less."

"Oh. Is that normal?"

"I think so, but I'll have to ask Dr. Pylos. We're seeing him on Tuesday if I haven't had the baby yet."

On Tuesday, Sansa finally got the good news from Dr. Pylos that they would finally be delivering her son. He scheduled her labor to be induced on Thursday and surmised that she'd be able to hold her son at sometime on Friday the thirteenth of June. Sansa's belly did a little flip, but she ignored it and reminded herself that superstition was silly.

"Thank god I'll finally have this baby out," she told Sandor on the drive home. "I know pregnancy is supposed to be a beautiful thing and all, but this is just getting ridiculous. Forty-one weeks and three days is much too long of a time to be pregnant!"


	17. Chapter 17

All Wednesday night, Sansa found she couldn't sleep. When she finally did pass out from exhaustion, it was almost 3 in the morning. Hours later, she was awoken by Sandor bursting in and sitting on her bed. She swatted at him for a bit as he tried to wake her up and then ended up giving up and sitting up in bed.

"What time is it?" she asked around a yawn.

"About two. I've been here for hours but your parents wouldn't let me come up until you woke up first… only you took way too long so they gave up," he told her. "So what should we do for the next five hours?"

The ended up watching movies in bed until Eddard came up and told them it was almost time to go to the hospital and that Sansa should get ready. Sandor ran around tossing clothes at her and stuffing other items into a bag for her. She'd never seen him so hyper before and it was a little bit exhausting to watch. When they were finally ready, they went downstairs and as it was scheduled, Sansa's parents decided to drive them to the hospital and stay with them. They wouldn't call Jon and Ygritte until Sansa was actually in labor, though.

The ride to the hospital was a bit awkward to say the least. Despite the fact that he'd been around for months and it was obvious he was going nowhere soon, Catelyn and Eddard had – understandably – not really warmed up to Sandor. As such, he was left to nervously hold Sansa's hand while Catelyn occasionally shot him a disapproving look. Sansa didn't put it past her father to have done so as well, but he was busy concentrating on driving and didn't take his eyes off the road.

Once they were at the hospital and got checked in it was about 8pm. Sansa was brought to a room on the delivery ward where she was hooked up to several machines and then given an IV drip that she was told would start her labor. The nurse who was explaining everything to her told her that it would take about twelve hours to start working and that she should just relax and try to sleep.

"Well, if nothing is happening for twelve more hours, you may as well go home," Catelyn told Sandor. He just glared at her and then silently shook his head.

"Mom, how about you and dad go get some food from the cafeteria?" Sansa asked, attempting to quell the tension in the room.

"That's a great idea," Eddard announced. "Is there anything either of you would like?"

Sandor shrugged and Sansa politely declined.

"I'm sorry about that. I think she's just… overprotective."

When her parents returned, Eddard had a turkey sandwich for Sandor with him. He meant it as a peace offering, but the way Catelyn was still looking at the boy wasn't helping anything. Sansa sighed.

"Mom, I know you think that Sandor doesn't deserve to be here or something, but on top of being this child's father, he is, and has been, in a relationship with me for the past few months and I really, really need and want him to be here for this entire thing. I know you maybe don't understand it, but can you please try and get along a little better so that it doesn't stress me out more than I already am?" Sansa asked, looking her mother dead in the eyes. Catelyn flushed a little but gave her a small nod after a little while. "Thank you."

It really did take twelve hours for the contractions to start. Just before eight the next morning, Sansa was awoken by a searing pain across her lower abdomen. She gasped and sat up in the bed. Looking around herself, she saw that both of her parents and Sandor were asleep in chairs around the room.

"Dad," she called softly as Eddard was the closest to her. "Daddy!" She reached out and shook his leg, causing him to startle awake.

"What is it? Is it happening?" he asked sleepily.

"I think so. Can you go to the nurses' station and ask for someone please?"

He nodded and left straight away. Meanwhile, Sandor and her mother had just started to wake up from the noise.

"What's going on?" Sandor asked, sitting up in his chair.

"I think my labor has started," she announced. "Mom, can you go call Jon and Ygritte and tell them that I'm in labor and that they can come if they'd like, please?"

"Of course," she said and got up to use her phone out in the hall just as Eddard returned with a nurse. Sansa was checked to see how she was progressing internally and the nurse reported that she was 3 centimeters dilated and that give her progress it wouldn't be long before the contractions got stronger and quicker and she would need her epidural. After she had been checked, two monitors were strapped to her belly, one to track her contractions, and another to track the baby's heart rate to make sure he was doing all right through the labor. Sansa was then wheeled into a delivery room and was closely monitored by a nurse.

It was about fifteen minutes longer before the contractions worsened and came quicker. The nurse checked her again and told her that since she was now five centimeters dilated, she would need her epidural soon. As the contractions worsened, the fetal heart rate monitor started displaying strange things and the nurse quickly left the room without a word, leaving Sansa to look concernedly at Sandor who was pale and looked like he would either pass out or throw up. He did neither, though, and the nurse soon returned with Dr. Pylos and another doctor. The other doctor turned out to be an anesthesiologist who quickly administered an epidural to her. Once she had left, Dr. Pylos checked her progress again and announced that she was about seven centimeters dilated.

For everyone else in the room, things were probably concerning but manageable. For Sansa herself, her world was in chaos. What was happening? Why were the machines behaving like that? Where were Jon and Ygritte. The hospital wasn't that far from their place and she knew they'd both taken work off today so where were they? She was panicking on the thought when Jon strode in with an excited looking Ygritte on his arm. _Well. At least that's one less thing to worry about._

Dr. Pylos was looking at the fetal heart rate monitor when he suddenly spoke up. "Okay, Sansa, I need you to take a calming breath and relax, okay?" He calmly adjusted something on her IV stand and then pulled a clear plastic mask off the wall before pressing it over her nose and mouth.

"Now, this is just oxygen, but I'd like you to take slow breaths in and out. Can you do that for me?" he asked. "Your baby is showing signs of fetal distress. It's relatively common and if you'll just relax and breathe, we might be able to get him to calm down too, okay?"

Sansa couldn't though. Her heart rate shot up and she felt like she couldn't get enough air, she was breathing so fast, but it felt like nothing was filling her lungs.

"No, no Sansa. You _need_ to calm down, this is making it worse," the doctor said, but his words were like a blur through her mind. There was something wrong with the baby and it was all she could think about. Her eyes flicked to Sandor's and though his face was relatively impassive aside from his clenched jaw, his eyes betrayed his terror. She gripped his fingers tightly as she tried to get enough air in her lungs.

"Okay, this isn't working, we need to calm her down and get this baby delivered now," she heard Dr. Pylos say to someone. It was as if she was hearing him through a fish tank, though, and his words didn't seem to make sense. "Check her again, depending on her progress, she might be at ten now."

Sansa felt hands on her, probing fingers, and then they were gone. "She's nearly at ten and her contractions are coming quick and strong."

"Sansa!" Dr. Pylos' voice broke through her foggy brain and she looked up at him. "Sansa, I'm going to need you to sit up and then I need you to push, okay? Can you do that for me?"

She was helped into a reclined sitting position and Dr. Pylos was trying to get her attention again.

"I need you to calm down Sansa. Deep breaths and push, okay? Use your abdominal muscles and push all the way down."

It felt strange to push, like an odd pressure around her butt. She couldn't really feel it though, because of the epidural she supposed. Taking deep breaths had finally gotten air into her lungs and she could feel her heart slowing back down to a more normal rate. She glanced around the room. Sandor was at her left clinging to her hand, her father had gone, her mother looked concerned, Jon was biting his lip and seemed to be concentrating on the ceiling and then Ygritte – Ygritte was at her right, holding tightly to her hand and every now and then pushing the hair off of Sansa's forehead. She could see her lips moving and knew she was probably offering some form of encouragement, but Sansa's brain was in too much of a fog to actually distinguish the words. She bit down on her lip and pushed again.

Every few moments, there was another contraction and Dr. Pylos told her to push. The longer she pushed, the harder it got to keep going. She pushed over and over again and the doctor said nothing about progress or seeing the baby, he just kept telling her to push. After nearly twenty minutes of it, she was exhausted and couldn't continue.

"Is he almost out?" she asked breathlessly, looking around at the medical staff in the room – Dr. Pylos, a resident, and two nurses. The doctor shook his head.

"You're having a really big baby Sansa and your hips aren't quite ready for this," he told her.

"Is this my fault?" Sandor asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Pylos inquired.

"It's my fault he's so big… right? I mean – I'm almost a giant…" he trailed off and looked apologetically down at Sansa.

"No, of course not," the doctor reassured him. "He is a big baby but there are many factors involved in it – the main one being that he's nearly two weeks overdue, which is certainly not your fault. Don't guilt yourself, this could happen to anyone."

Dr. Pylos then turned back to Sansa and addressed her.

"We need to take him out via a C-section. It has to be quick because he's in distress and cannot stay in much longer and still be born healthy. We need to take you to the OR now. Who is it you'd like to come with you?"

OR. Operating Room. Surgery. Sansa's heart jolted, but she tried to remain calm for the child's sake. She glanced around the room, knowing she needed to pick just one of them to be with her in the operating room. She glanced from face to face and made a very difficult split-second decision.

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awww guys! just one more chapter to go and then the epilogue :)


	18. Chapter 18

"Ygritte," she murmured, and then louder. "I want Ygritte with me."

There was a moment of silence amongst her family as her words sank in.

"Are you sure?" the other redhead asked. "Shouldn't you have your mother or Sandor with you?"

"The first person to hold him should be his mother," Sansa told her. "You should be there – he's your son."

Ygritte was whisked away to pre-op to get changed and scrubbed in while Sansa and Catelyn filled out a consent form to the surgery. The anesthesiologist from earlier returned and Sandor held her hand while the spinal block was injected and her epidural catheter was removed.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked softly as the doctor worked behind her.

"No," he told her. "I agree that Ygritte should be the one to be there. I'm just upset it has to happen this way, but it's not your fault."

"Well… only one person is allowed with me, but maybe once the baby is born, you can come in while they sew me back up," she suggested. "I'll ask if you'd like to be there."

"Thank you. I'm sorry this is happening. If I wasn't so big…" he trailed off.

"Sandor, stop. The doctor said this wasn't your fault, remember?" she reminded him. "After all, you mother managed to give birth to you and your brother. It's just that my body is too small. You can't help that."

"Alright, well, I'll see you after or whatever," he told her and kissed her forehead. While they were talking, the anesthesiologist had finished her work.

"Good luck darling," Catelyn told her, stroking her forehead.

Sansa rolled back onto her back and was wheeled out of the room to go to post op. As she did, she glanced at Jon who at that moment looked just like Sandor, pale and scared. They both looked like new fathers and she smiled on her way out.

In the pre-op room, Ygritte was waiting, having been dressed appropriately in scrubs for the surgery. Sansa supposed things were being done to her, but she couldn't feel them. A tube went into place between her legs and the vibrating sound of a razor hit her ears.

"What is that?" she asked Ygritte as she was unable to see over the bump of her belly.

"It's just an electric razor. They're shaving where the incision will be," Ygritte told her. The sound stopped after a short while. "Now they're just using a hand razor to clean it up more."

She was given an antacid to neutralize her stomach contents in case anything happened and a nurse hung another bag on her IV stand. Then, with Ygritte holding her hand, she was wheeled into the operating room. It was big and bright and looked just like they did on television. Ygritte sat next to her, still gripping her hand and they smiled nervously at each other as a screen was erected Just below Sansa's neck, blocking her view of anything surgical that was going on.

"Ygritte… would you mind watching what is going on and telling me, please?" Sansa asked quietly as surgeons and scrub nurses bustled around them.

"Of course," she said, and stood so that she could see. "Oh, I think they're putting antiseptic on."

"Alright Sansa, are you ready?" her surgeon asked.

"Yes, I think so," she told him.

"We'll start now, then," he said and concentrated on his work.

She heard a machine beeping wildly from somewhere off to her right and glanced over at it. A green line was jumping across a small black screen.

"What is that?" she asked and her anesthesiologist appeared above her.

"That's your heart beat. You don't need to be nervous, but I'll give you a mild sedative if you'd like," she said.

"Yes please."

The doctor injected it straight into Sansa's IV drip and it wasn't long before she felt calmer and noticed her heart rate had slowed down.

"They're cutting," Ygritte told her from above. She couldn't feel the cutting, but after a while she felt strange tugging and looked to Ygritte, who was watching, but said nothing.

"Is… is everything alright?" Sansa asked.

"I think so. None of them look stressed," she replied.

It was just a lot of strange pressure and tugging for a while and then Ygritte's excited tug on her hand.

"They can see him!" she exclaimed excitedly. "He's nearly out."

There was a strange push and a tug that Sansa could feel and then Ygritte's grip on her hand tightened more.

"He's out!" Sansa looked up and the room blurred as tears filled her eyes. There was no sound. No sound of a baby crying, but Ygritte hadn't looked worried.

"Is he okay? Why isn't he crying?" she asked.

"He's fine, I think. He's breathing – yeah, he's turning a nice healthy pink and they've just cut his cord," she explained. "I think he's just too happy to be here to cry."

Off to the side, Sansa could see a person in scrubs carrying a bundle over to a table.

"Ma'am, if you'd like to see him, you can," the woman told Ygritte.

"Go, go see him. Tell me about him," Sansa urged, letting go of her hand.

The tugging sensations continued as Sansa watched doctors working on the baby. She could kind of see what was going on, though it was blurry because she couldn't seem to stop crying. They rubbed the baby off, put hospital bracelets on him, clipped his cord off, measured and weighed him. The whole while, Ygritte stood silently watching.

"He's huge Sansa," she said finally after they had weighed him and were wrapping him in a blanket. "Almost thirteen pounds!"

"No wonder I couldn't push him out," Sansa said lightly. "What does he look like?"

"Jon," she said shortly. "He looks just like Jon. Sandor, too. He's got dark hair and grey eyes. He's beautiful. He's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Do you want to see him? I can bring him over now."

Sansa looked away and up to the ceiling.

"No… I'm not ready yet," she said, her voice quiet and shaky to her ears. "You should take him out to Jon."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He's yours, not mine. I'll see him later."

"If you're sure," Ygritte said.

"Wait!" she called, suddenly remembering the one thing she'd been wondering about for months. "What's his name?"

"Torrhen," Ygritte told her. "Torrhen Eddard Stark."

"Torrhen…" Sansa whispered to herself. She had been trying so hard not to think of names that the boy might be called, but she'd been trying to keep herself from hoping that Jon would insist upon an ancestral Stark name. She was so glad that he and Ygritte named their child Torrhen as the stories passed down about him had always been her favourite.

Time slid by strangely as Sansa lay alone in the operating room being sewn back up. When she looked up at the time when it was finally all over and they were taking down the draping and covering her back up, it seemed that half an hour had passed since Torrhen had been born. She couldn't stop turning the name around in her head now that she finally had a name for the life that had been growing within her for the past nine months.

Once she was covered in warm blankets, nurses wheeled her and her IV stand into a recovery room. She lay alone for a few minutes there before Sandor was shown into the room. He shuffled in with his hands in his pockets and sat down in a chair at her bedside, taking her hand.

"Are you okay?" he inquired. Sansa shrugged.

"I guess so. It's kind of sad though, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah Sansa," he agreed, squeezing her hand. "It's sad."

"Did you see him?" she asked.

"Yeah. Ygritte says he looks like Jon. Jon says he looks like me," he told her.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"He's got your nose. I think it's too early to tell, but he might have your facial structure, too. He has my eyes, I think, but he does look a lot like your brother."

"So… he looks like us, then?" Sansa asked.

"Yeah… he looks like us."

It was hours in the recovery room before Sansa was moved to a regular room and then allowed to sit up and eat and drink and have more guests than just Sandor.

"Sansa, Ygritte told me you did so well," Catelyn told her, coming over to the bedside and stroking her hair. "I'm so proud of you dear."

"Thank you mom," Sansa said softly. "Are Jon and Ygritte happy with Torrhen?"

"Of course; happier than you'd believe. You've done such a beautiful thing for them."

"Did they go home?" she asked.

"Yes. They took their son home."

"Oh. Okay," Sansa said softly. Her feelings were so confused, but she was pretty sure she was going about this the right way. She needed to give herself time and get used to the idea that Torrhen was Jon and Ygritte's son before she'd actually let herself see him.

Later that night, she was left alone with Sandor while the rest of her family went home.

"How do you feel?" she asked him.

"Weird. Confused… I don't know," he said. "It's like… it's like he was never really ours to begin with though. Right?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "I think we should just be happy for Jon and Ygritte and adore our nephew. What do you think of his name?"

"Very Stark. It's fitting," he replied. "What about you?"

"I'd have picked it myself," she told him. "I couldn't be happier, really."

"Were you thinking of any names for him?"

"Rickard," she finally admitted. "If I'd kept him, I would have called him Rickard. I think Torrhen is better, though."

"If we ever have one of our own, we can call him Rickard if you like," Sandor told her quietly.

"You want to have a baby with me?" Sansa asked in awe.

"Another," he clarified. "When we're both ready, I want to have a family with you."

"Are you… asking me to marry you?" she asked. Sansa's stomach was churning. She was fourteen and had just given birth to an unexpected and unplanned child that she'd given up to her brother and his girlfriend. She was definitely not ready to be thinking about marriage.

"Nope," he replied with a smile. "I'm promising you that I will be with you for as long as you want me and that one day, should you want it, we will have a family together. But not any time soon. I need to go to college, you need to finish high school and go to college and we both need to establish solid careers before any of that can happen."

"Oh, good. I feel the same," she told him softly.

When she had finally been released from the hospital and after spending a few more days at home relaxing, Jon brought Torrhen over for her to meet one afternoon. He'd called ahead of time, and she was all ready and sitting up in bed when she heard him arrive downstairs. Her stomach fluttered as she heard him walking upstairs and she bit her lip just as he walked in through the door, holding his son against his chest.

"You look like a father Jon," she told him with a smile.

"I feel like one. I guess it must be because I am now," he replied. "How are you feeling? Are you ready for this?"

"It hurts a little to move, but I feel really good otherwise," she reported. "And yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm ready now. Thank you so much for letting me see him."

"Well, everyone else has so it's only right that you get to see him now that you're ready."

Jon sat down on the bed and slowly placed Torrhen into Sansa's outstretched arms. She held him close, supporting his neck and ran her finger across the boy's cheek. Sandor was right; he did have his eyes. She ran her finger across his knuckles that suck out where he was clutching at his blanket and he flexed them before clutching at her finger, holding onto her.

"Oh, Jon. He's beautiful," she said breathlessly.

"He really is," Jon told her. "I can't thank you enough. This must be hard. How do you feel?"

"Like an excited aunt, actually. I feel really good about it and I'm happy for you," she admitted. "It was sad at first but I'm so glad you and Ygritte will be able to take good care of him and I'm so, so glad that he'll be able to be a Stark."

"You're good with it, then?" Jon asked.

"I'm good."


	19. Epilogue

"Torrhen, have you ever noticed that we look alike?" the question came out of the dark from the voice of the small boy in the sleeping bag beside him.

"Yeah Rickard, we do," he replied tiredly. His six-year-old cousin had been boundlessly energized all day and he'd hoped the kid would calm down at nighttime. He guessed luck was not on his side.

"Lyra and Jon don't look like you," Rickard said again. Torrhen could tell the little boy was trying to work things out in his head. Clearly he'd never been told the truth of his cousin's parentage and Torrhen wasn't sure he was the person who should be telling him; he didn't want his aunt and uncle to be angry with him. Perhaps they wouldn't be, though…

"I was adopted. I had different parents than Lyra and Jon," he replied. "When I was born, I had your parents."

Rickard paused for a while before speaking again.

"Are you my brother, then?" he asked.

"I'm your cousin. But I'm still older, so you have to listen to me. Now, go to sleep."

Torrhen waited until Rickard fell asleep before quietly creeping out of the tent and heading over to the fire pit. His uncle Sandor sat alone poking at the fire. It was late and everyone else had gone to bed. Ever since he was small, Torrhen had always loved the fishing trips the men of his family would always take the boys on throughout the summers. He sat a short enough ways away from his uncle and cleared his throat. Eyes identical to his own met his and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Rickard asked why he and I look so much alike," he said softly.

"And?"

"I told him we had the same parents before I got adopted," Torrhen told him. "Is… is that okay?"

His uncle shrugged. "It's the truth. He's best off having heard it from you, I think."

"Do you ever regret it?" Torrhen finally asked the question he'd been wondering for years. "Giving me to my parents, instead of keeping me… that is."

"Did you have a good childhood?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Then, no. I don't," his uncle replied. "My responsibility to you as a parent was to be certain that you got the best thing for you. That didn't include being raised by a college student and a 14-year-old. The best Sansa and I could do was to give you to your parents, so that's what we did."

They were both silent for a few minutes after that before his uncle spoke again.

"Are you upset that you were adopted?"

"No," Torrhen answered without hesitation. From the time he could understand what his parents were saying, they'd always explained to him that he was adopted. That he'd been the best gift they ever could have gotten. Torrhen couldn't ever remember a time when he hadn't known that his aunt and uncle had been teenagers who weren't ready for a kid when he was born so he'd been handed to the capable hands of his parents. The thought of being upset about it had never even crossed his mind. "You're right, my parents are what was best for me. Thank you."

His uncle shrugged and didn't say any more.

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thank you so much to all of you who reviewed and were so invested in this!


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